Fe/male Switch: Your Startup Facilitator & Incubator for Women
2025-04-22 09:06 Top 10

Top 10 Cities for Female Entrepreneurs in North America in 2025

Top 10 Cities for Female Entrepreneurs in North America in 2025

As we head into 2025, the landscape for female entrepreneurs across North America is growing more vibrant, with cities emerging as supportive hubs for innovation and business ownership. These cities stand out for their abundance of resources, favorable legislation, and successful networks that encourage women to launch and grow their businesses. Here are the Top 10 Cities for Female Entrepreneurs in North America in 2025, complete with key details and insights.
Write FREE SEO-optimized Blog Articles! Our Article Writer ensures your blog is loved by both Google and your readers, turning those clicks into customers.

👉 Write your article here

1. Seattle, Washington, USA

Data Points:
  • Women make up 43.8% of self-employed business owners, highlighting a robust entrepreneurial spirit among women.
  • A minimal 6% earnings gap between male and female business owners indicates a healthy pay equity environment.
  • The city is well-known as a tech hub, providing ample growth opportunities and resources for startups.
  • Additionally, zero state income tax helps mitigate high housing costs, making it an appealing place to live and work. Learn more about Seattle

2. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA, USA

Data Points:
  • Ranks first in the number of female-owned small businesses per 10,000 residents, leading the metropolis in female entrepreneurship.
  • Notable for a significant number of large businesses, with many female-owned firms exceeding 500 employees and $1M in revenue.
  • The area also secured over $42 million in SBA-approved loans for women, making funding accessible. Discover more about New York
Boost Your SEO with 1,500+ Free Business Directories: increase your DA, get backlinks and traffic.

We've compiled an exclusive list of directories and websites where you can submit your business and start building high-quality backlinks to boost your website traffic and get your SEO snowball rolling.

👉 Submit your startup now!

3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, USA

Data Points:
  • Ranks second in the number of female-owned businesses with revenues over $1M and employee counts over 500.
  • California's overall support and resources create a strong environment for women entrepreneurs.
  • The expansive diversified economy supports opportunities across a wide spectrum of sectors. Explore more about Los Angeles

4. Miami, Florida, USA

Data Points:
  • 16.1% of women in Miami are self-employed, a promising statistic reflecting the entrepreneurial spirit.
  • Despite the dynamic corporate landscape, self-employed women earn a median salary of $32,924, showing potential for financial growth.
  • The rapid growth of women-owned businesses—up 94.7% in recent years—speaks volumes about this city's welcoming culture. Learn more about Miami

5. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

Data Points:
  • 15.5% of women in this city are self-employed, fostering a strong local entrepreneurial community.
  • The remarkable earning potential for self-employed women showcases the area’s lucrative opportunities.
  • Fort Lauderdale positions itself as a growing hub for female entrepreneurship as more women are encouraged to start businesses. Discover Fort Lauderdale
Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.

We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.

👉 Get featured now!

6. Paradise, Nevada, USA

Data Points:
  • Recognized as one of the best cities for women entrepreneurs, its ranking reflects a supportive environment.
  • It’s noteworthy that women business owners sometimes outearn their male counterparts, showcasing a healthy business environment.
  • The South/West region of the U.S., including Paradise, emerges as a strong arena for female-led enterprises. Learn more about Paradise

7. Denver, Colorado, USA

Data Points:
  • Known for its thriving startup ecosystem, Denver attracts entrepreneurs with innovative ideas.
  • The high venture capital concentration relative to the state’s GDP significantly supports women-owned startups.
  • Consistently ranks in Top 10 lists of cities ideal for women entrepreneurs, and women-led firms demonstrate strong revenue potential. Discover Denver

8. Boulder, Colorado, USA

Data Points:
  • Boulder emerges as a top city for female entrepreneurship with a 27.5% increase in women-owned businesses over the past five years.
  • The area's welcoming business environment contributes to its high ranking for fostering female-led startups. Learn about Boulder

9. Chicago, Illinois, USA

Data Points:
  • Chicago boasts a 30% rate of women-owned startups, significantly above the global average, demonstrating a unique local engagement in entrepreneurship.
  • The majority of its startups are fronted by women, pointing towards a strong collaborative atmosphere and business networking. Explore Chicago

10. Other Notable Cities

  • Orlando, Florida: Recognized for its supportive environment for women entrepreneurs.
  • Portland, Oregon: Continues to rank as a top city for female entrepreneurs across different metrics.
  • Scottsdale, Arizona: Offers varied opportunities and support mechanisms for women-led businesses.
  • Durham, North Carolina: A notable city in the South experiencing growth in female entrepreneurship.
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota: Remains a favorable environment for women business owners, frequently appearing in top lists.
Key Data Points Considered: The rankings considered various aspects, including the percentage of self-employed women, earnings parity, access to funding, growth rate of female-owned businesses, local economic health, and availability of resources.
Join F/MS: Startup Facilitator & Incubator and unlock your startup dreams today! Get your first customers, register you company in the Netherlands and get startup visas for the team.

FAQ

Q: Which city has the highest percentage of self-employed women?
A: Seattle, Washington, has a high percentage with 43.8% of self-employed business owners being women. Learn more about Seattle as a top city for female entrepreneurs.
Q: What city ranks first in the number of female-owned small businesses?
A: The New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area ranks first in the number of female-owned small businesses per 10,000 residents. Discover more about New York's entrepreneurial landscape.
Q: Which city is known as a major tech hub for female entrepreneurs?
A: Seattle is recognized as a major tech hub, providing growth opportunities for female entrepreneurs. Explore Seattle’s advantages for women in business.
Q: Where can female entrepreneurs find a vibrant corporate landscape in Florida?
A: Miami, Florida offers a wide and dynamic business environment, which is conducive to female entrepreneurship. Read more about Miami's business climate.
Q: What city in Florida has seen rapid growth in women-owned businesses?
A: Miami has experienced a 94.7% growth in its women-owned businesses, highlighting its expanding entrepreneurial landscape. Learn more about this growth.
Q: Which city is ranked highly for women business owners sometimes out-earning their male counterparts?
A: Paradise, Nevada is noted for many women business owners out-earning their male counterparts, making it a supportive environment for female entrepreneurs. Find out more about Paradise's business scene.
Q: What are some top cities in Colorado for female entrepreneurs?
A: Denver and Boulder, Colorado are both praised for their thriving startup ecosystems and supportive environments for women in business. Read further on Colorado's advantages.
Q: What city boasts a high percentage of women-owned startups in Illinois?
A: Chicago, Illinois has a remarkable 30% rate of women-owned startups, significantly higher than the global average. Discover more about Chicago’s startup ecosystem.
Q: What are some notable cities outside the top ten for female entrepreneurs?
A: Notable mentions include Orlando, Portland, St. Petersburg, and Scottsdale, all recognized as strong cities for women entrepreneurs. Learn more about other top cities.
Q: Which states are highlighted as the best for women-owned businesses?
A: California, New York, Florida, Texas, and Colorado are highlighted as the best states for women-owned businesses, providing supportive environments. Read more on the best states for female entrepreneurship.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.