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Texas ranks as 5th best state for women entrepreneurs in new survey

Women at office, entrepreneur, work, business

Texas is a good place for women to run a business.

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Texas is among the best states for women-led startups in 2023, a new report says.

The Lone Star State landed at No. 5 in Merchant Maverick’s annual ranking of the top 10 states for female business owners, thanks in part to its robust venture capital environment for entrepreneurs.

Texas actually dropped three spots from last year's ranking of No. 2, but climbed up from its No. 6 showing in 2021.

Merchant Maverick, a product comparison site for small businesses, says Texas “boasts the strongest venture capital scene” for women entrepreneurs outside California and the Northeast. The state ranked fourth in that category, with $6.5 billion invested in the past five years.

Other factors favoring Texas include:

Women solely lead 22 percent of all employees working for a business in Texas (No. 4).
Texas lacks a state income tax (tied for No. 1).

However, Texas didn’t fare well in terms of the unemployment rate (No. 36) and the rate of business ownership by women (No. 29). Other Texas data includes:

Average income for women business owners, $52,059 (No. 19).
Early startup survival rate, 81.9 percent (No. 18).

Appearing ahead of Texas in the 2023 ranking are No. 1 Colorado, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 California, and No. 4 Arizona.

Another recent ranking, this one from NorthOne, an online bank catering to small businesses, puts Texas at No. 7 among the 10 best states for women entrepreneurs.

NorthOne says Texas provides “a ton of opportunities” for woman entrepreneurs. For instance, it notches one of the highest numbers of women-owned businesses in the country at 1.4 million, 2.1 percent of which have at least 500 employees.

In this study, Texas is preceded by Colorado at No. 1, Nevada at No. 2, Virginia at No. 3, Maryland at No. 4, Florida at No. 5, and New Mexico at No. 6. The rankings are based on eight metrics, including the percentage of woman-owned businesses and the percentage of women-owned businesses with at least 500 employees.

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This story originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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schools with high achievers

These 7 San Antonio K-8 schools rank among Texas' best for 2025

Basis San Antonio - Shavano Campus

Congratulations are in order for the Dragons.

Several San Antonio elementary and middle schools are at the top of the class when it comes to educating and preparing the next generation for a successful life and career, according to U.S. News & World Report's list of 2025 Elementary and Middle Schools Rankings.

One such school – Basis San Antonio - Shavano Campus – is the No. 17 best middle school in Texas for 2025.

This November, U.S. News ranked over 79,000 public schools on the state and district level using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading/language arts on state assessments, and tie-breakers were decided based on student-teacher ratios.

"The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success," said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor for Education at U.S. News. "The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond."

Texas' best middle schools for 2025
In all, five San Antonio middle schools achieved spots among the top 100 best Texas middle schools for 2025, according to U.S. News.

The Shavano Campus of the Basis San Antonio charter school has a total enrollment of 1,018 students, with 84 percent of the student population scoring "at or above the proficient level" in mathematics, and 90 percent scoring at that level of proficiency in reading. The school has a student-teacher ratio of 16:1, with 63 full-time teachers.

Students at this charter school performed far better with its test scores than the rest of Texas, U.S. News said.

Four additional San Antonio schools ranked among the top 100 best middle schools in Texas, including:

No. 53 – Eleanor Kolitz Hebrew Language Academy
No. 62 – Lopez Middle School, North East ISD
No. 80 – Idea Carver College Preparatory
No. 97 – Young Women's Leadership Academy, San Antonio ISD

The best elementary schools in Texas
Jesus A. Kawas Elementary school in Laredo was crowned the No. 1 elementary school in Texas for 2025, while two San Antonio schools made it into the top 100.

Basis San Antonio Primary Medical Center is the No. 75 best elementary school statewide, boasting 787 students, 48 full-time teachers, and a 16:1 student-teacher ratio. Students at this school scored 80 percent efficiency in math and 85 percent efficiency in reading.

Landing at No. 90 in Texas is San Antonio's Hardy Oak Elementary in North East ISD. Hardy Oak has a student population of 683 with 37 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. The school's student-teacher ratio is 18:1, and 77 percent of students are proficient in math, and 85 percent are proficient in reading.

U.S. News says student success at Hardy Oak is significantly higher than the rest of North East ISD.

"In North East Independent School District, 56 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 46 percent tested at or above that level for math," U.S. News said in Hardy Oak's profile. "Hardy Oak Elementary [also] did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state."

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