Fresno saw a boom in small business growth in 2026, naming it one of the most entrepreneurial cities in the United States by GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab.
Getty Images
California has the fourth-largest economy in the world with 4.2 million small businesses are operating in the state.
Small businesses account for 99.9% of all companies in the state, providing employment to 7 million people, according to the California Employment Development Department.
GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab collected information on small businesses contributions to United States cities, ranking the areas by how they boost the job market and economy, among other statistics.
“More small and micro-businesses means more jobs created and greater household income on average, making communities stronger and more vibrant places to live and work – on their own terms,” the research lab said in a 2026 study.
The GoDaddy study defined small businesses as having fewer than 500 employees working at a company.
Some cities in the Golden State have small businesses employing more workers than larger companies, with billions of dollars in annual employee wages.
See what city ranked the most entrepreneurial in California:
What city in San Joaquin Valley is the most entrepreneurial?
Fresno has 4% in microbusiness growth in 2026, according to the GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab.
In the most recent data, Fresno had 13,615 small businesses that employed more than 146,000 people in 2022, according to a Smartest Dollar study.
There were 74,598 small businesses in Fresno County, accounting for 99.95% of all businesses in 2022, the Neilsberg, a research company, reported in its own study.
The city had 242,002 residents employed in total, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, where 60% worked at a small business.
Small businesses paid nearly $6.49 billion in wages annually, equating to 51.7% of Fresno’s total payroll to the entire workforce population.
23% of the total labor force in Fresno came from the educational services, health care and social assistance industries, census bureau statistics showed, while another 11% worked in industries like arts, entertainment, recreation and accommodation and food services.
What were the top 10 most entrepreneurial cities in the U.S.?
The GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab ranked these 10 cities as the most entrepreneurial in the U.S.:
San Antonio, TexasMiami, FloridaMilwaukee, WisconsinEl Paso, TexasPortland, OregonFresnoBronx, New YorkTampa, FloridaAlbuquerque, New MexicoWashington D.C.How did GoDaddy come up with its ranking?
The GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab collected its own data by surveying over 70,000 microbusiness entrepreneurs.
Microbusiness density records are also examined to the quantity and distribution of small businesses, which is then used to compare against a city’s economic trends such as unemployment, job creation and household median income gains.
Another dataset reviewed was microbusiness industry and commerce that included commercial activity trends like the number of sellers, orders and gross merchandise value.
The U.S. microbusiness activity index provided information on how active and healthy a community engagement is with small businesses.
Loading…
This story was originally published July 24, 2026 at 11:41 AM.
Related Stories from Fresno Bee
The Tribune
Alexiah Syrai Olsen is a service journalism reporter for The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, California. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and design from The New School in New York City.