hispanic providence

Providence Ranks As Worst City In The United States For Hispanic Entrepreneurs

Christian Winthrop·
LocalThe Buzz

A study released this morning by Wallet Hub ranks Providence dead last in the United States for Hispanic Entrepreneurs.

U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President Javier Palomarez once described Hispanic entrepreneurs as “America’s business future” and if he’s correct Providence is in some serious trouble. Not only is the Hispanic and Latino community expected to make up a third of the entire U.S. population by 2050, but this demographic is also creating businesses at 15 times the national rate today, according to a report from analytics firm Geoscape and the USHCC.

What’s more, their economic contributions are nothing short of monumental. Since 2012, the more than four million Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. have hauled in an extra $144 billion in combined yearly revenue, bumping 2015’s total to $661 billion.

But is this really a surprise to anyone? Rhode Island consistently ranks near the bottom of the barrel for jobs and economy. Rhode Island ranks as the 4th worst run state in the nation, the middle class is dying faster in Rhode Island than anywhere else in the country, Rhode Island is the worst rated state to retire in the country and on and on.

Source: WalletHub

Providence rank 150th in “Hispanic Business Friendliness and 146th in “Hispanic Purchasing power.”

So congratulations, Rhode Island! Or something like that.

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In order to determine the best cities for Hispanic entrepreneurs, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 most populated U.S. cities across two key dimensions, namely “Hispanic Business-Friendliness” and “Hispanic Purchasing Power.” With regard to our sample, please note that “city” refers to city proper and excludes surrounding metro areas.

First, we identified 19 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was given a value between 0 and 100, wherein 100 represents the most favorable conditions for Hispanic businesses and 0 the least. Data for metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available only at the state level.

Finally, we calculated the overall score for each city using the weighted average across all metrics and ranked the cities accordingly.

Hispanic Business-Friendliness – Total Points: 60

  • Share of Hispanic-Owned Businesses: Double Weight (~9.23 Points)
    Note: This metric measures the number of Hispanic-owned firms adjusted for the Hispanic population.
  • Hispanic Entrepreneurship Rate: Double Weight (~9.23 Points)
  • Business-Friendliness Score: Full* Weight (~4.62 Points)
  • Entrepreneurial Activity Index: Full* Weight (~4.62 Points)
  • Industry Variety: Full Weight (~4.62 Points)
  • 5-Year Survival Rate: Full* Weight (~4.62Points)
  • Significant Startups per Capita: Full Weight (~4.62 Points)
    Note: This metric measures the 5- to 15-year survival rate of startups with at least five employees.
  • Small Business Loans per Total Number of Small Businesses: Full Weight (~4.62 Points)
  • Average Monthly Rent for Office Space: Full Weight (~4.62 Points)
  • Corporate Tax Rank: Full* Weight (~4.62 Points)
  • Length of Average Workday: Full Weight (~4.62 Points)

Hispanic Purchasing Power – Total Points: 40

  • Affordability: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
    Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the median annual income of Hispanics by the cost of living index.
  • Income Growth for Hispanics: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
  • Housing Affordability for Hispanics: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
    Note: This metric was calculated by dividing the median annual income of Hispanics by the median house price.
  • Hispanic Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
  • Percentage of Hispanic Residents: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
  • Hispanic Population Growth: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
  • Percentage of Hispanics with at Least a Bachelor’s Degree: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
  • Hispanic Housing Tenure: Half Weight (~2.67 Points)
    Note: This metric measures the Hispanic renter-to-owner ratio.

 

Sources: Data used to create these rankings were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Council for Community and Economic Research, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kauffman Foundation, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Tax Foundation, LoopNet and Thumbtack.