Cape Coral has a lot going for it these days, including being one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S.

Not surprisingly, this kind of growth is spawning businesses and it makes Cape Coral a prime location for entrepreneurs looking to open anything from a new restaurant to a boutique.

In other words, Cape Coral is becoming a small business haven. And there is new evidence to underscore Cape Coral’s small business success.

CoworkingCafe just released a study on the best U.S. metros for small businessesCape Coral-Fort Myers ranked No. 5 among mid-sized metros, powered by rapid GDP growth and strong business formation, according to a press release.

The Coworking Cafe study ranked large, mid-sized, and small metros across three key categories: Business Environment, Economic Environment, and Human Capital.

For Cape Coral-Fort Myers, the press release said the findings point to “a rapidly expanding small business market where strong GDP growth and high business formation” helped earn this SW Florida region a high ranking.

What makes Cape Coral-Fort Myers a small business haven?

Some of the highlights:

The metro posted the third-highest GDP growth in its group, up 45% between 2019 to 2023.

Cape Coral-Fort Myers has about 13,700 small businesses per 100,000 residents, with small businesses accounting for more than half of total employment.

New business applications reached over 2,300 per 100,000 residents, the highest rate among mid-sized metros.

Other statistics for Cape Coral-Fort Myers:

Business applications per 100,000 people: 2,332

Small businesses per 100,000 people: 13,759

Small business share of employment: 55%

Self-employment percentage: 14%

More information

You can explore the full CoworkingCafe study here:

https://www.coworkingcafe.com/blog/best-metro-areas-for-small-businesses/

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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Is Cape Coral, Florida a good place to start a small business?