By: Mike DeWitt
The City of Kentwood prides itself on being business friendly. It’s a city looking for ways to create jobs, generate commerce, and offer opportunities for those looking to open a business in Kentwood.
Now Kentwood has another pitch to potential business owners: One of the best places to open a small business in America.
In a study of 1,268 small-sized cities in America, Kentwood came in at number 51.
“The City leaders, past and present, have intentionally focused City staff and services to be ‘Open for Business’,” noted Mayor Kepley. “It is exciting to see our efforts result in a national ranking.”
The study compared cities with a population size between 25,000 and 100,000 residents across three different dimensions – business environment, access to resources, and business costs. Those three dimensions where then broken down further into 15 relevant metrics that were weighted accordingly.
Kentwood scored well enough to place itself just outside of the top-50. In fact, Kentwood sits atop the nation when it comes to inexpensive office spaces.
The ranking doesn’t act as validation for the city but instead registers as verification that Kentwood is open and ready for business.
Other rankings of note – Wyoming comes in at 230 and Holland tops the list at number 1.
