Ranking It

San Antonio ranks best in Texas for women-owned businesses

WalletHub recently ranked the best and worst cities for women-owned businesses.

If you're a female entrepreneur in San Antonio, you’re in the right place. According to a new report from WalletHub, the Alamo City ranks in the top 25 cities in America for women-owned businesses.

To help women find the best places to launch their enterprises, the financial website compared the 100 largest metropolitan areas across 10 key metrics. Taking a look at everything from the average revenue growth of women-owned businesses to industry variety for women-owned firms, San Antonio places as the No. 21 best city in the U.S. — and the only Texas city in the top 25.

San Antonio ranks No. 1 overall in the female entrepreneurship category. Key findings include that almost 22 percent of businesses in San Antonio are women-owned, and these businesses experience a whopping 43 percent average revenue growth. In addition, the average revenue of women-owned businesses in San Antonio is over $1.6 million.

Where we don’t place so highly are in WalletHub’s “working moms” and “gender inequality” rankings.

Looks like you may want to head to Tennessee if you’re a woman starting a business. Nashville, Chattanooga, and Memphis rank Nos. 1, 2, and 4. Columbus, Ohio and Milwaukee round out the top five. Cities to avoid? Greenville, South Carolina; Ventura, California; and San Jose, California rank in the bottom three for women-owned businesses.

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A+ for SA

San Antonio ranks 2nd among Texas’ best large college towns

UTSA/ Facebook

UTSA students cheer during on the Roadrunners.

San Antonio has entered the spotlight as the No. 2 best large college town in Texas, and it ranks in the top 25 among the largest college towns in America, a new study has proclaimed.

To determine the best college towns, WalletHub analyzed 415 cities based on their "wallet-friendliness," social environment, and academic and economic opportunities for college graduates. Cities are ranked overall and are sorted into one of three population categories: large, midsize, and small cities.

San Antonio ranked as the 23rd best college town nationwide in the large city ranking, and it ranked 72nd overall regardless of city size.

Out of the three key dimensions, the Alamo City ranked highest for "wallet friendliness" — landing 64th nationally. This category examined local housing costs, student loan debt per person, the adjusted cost of living for young people, and other financial factors.

The city stands at No. 77 nationwide for its "social environment," which compared the number of students per capita, the share of single people, crime rates, and the number of cafés, breweries, food trucks, festivals, and shopping centers per capita, among others.

Apparently, San Antonio's academic and economic opportunities leave much to be desired. The city flunked out in this category and ranked 316th nationally based on the quality of higher education, the earning potential for college graduates, unemployment rates, job growth rates, the share of part-time jobs and median income of part-time workers, and more.

"As student living expenses can reach over $39,000 per year, it’s important to find the most bang for your buck," the report's author wrote. "Therefore, it’s best to live in a city with a reasonable cost of living, along with good academic and work opportunities. The ideal city should also provide a fun social environment to help students deal with the stress of college."

Other top college towns in Texas
Austin once again topped the list as the No. 1 best college town in America, boosted by the city's wealth of local colleges and universities and the local economy. The Capital City has outshone obvious contenders like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, for five years in a row, and it also tops the large cities list.

According to the report's findings, Austin has the 15th best academic and economic opportunities for college students and graduates, and the 16th best social environment. WalletHub commends Austin for having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation and the "34th-best annual job growth rate," while also offering students ample ways to "de-stress after class."

"On top of that, Austin ranks 22nd in the nation for the quality of higher education among more than 400 cities in our study," the report said. "It also has the 112th-cheapest in-state tuition (including room and board), at $34,651 per year."

Six other cities in the Lone Star State appeared on the overall list of America's best college towns: College Station (No. 37), Plano (No. 54), Houston (No. 73), Denton (No. 77), Lubbock (No. 83), and Fort Worth (No. 100).

In the rankings by city size, Houston ranked as the No. 3 best large college town in Texas and 24th nationwide.

San Antonio neighbor San Marcos ranked as the No. 2 best small college town in Texas, and 54th best among the small colleges nationally. In the overall list regardless of city size, San Marcos ranked 132nd nationally.

The top 10 best college towns in America for 2027 are:

No. 1 – Austin
No. 2 – Ann Arbor, Michigan
No. 3 – Charlottesville, Virginia
No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 5 – Atlanta
No. 6 – Tampa, Florida
No. 7 – San Diego
No. 8 – Scottsdale, Arizona
No. 9 – Orlando
No. 10 – Charleston, South Carolina

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