Taking the plunge to start your own business is a big step, but where in the country is the best place to start?
We’ve taken a look at a number of factors such the average salary, amount of new businesses and average broadband speed to determine which city in the UK* has the most potential for budding entrepreneurs.
You might be surprised to see that London didn’t come out on top, largely because of the slow internet speeds in the city centre!
We calculated stats for each city in the UK across five main areas of working age population, median salary, new businesses per business deaths, average broadband speed and the number of universities per 100k population and, for each, assigned a score between 1 and 60 based upon their ranking. We then combined these figures to give us a total figure.
Check out the full table below to see how your city ranked!
| City | Working Age Population | Median Salary | New Businesses Per Business Deaths | Average Broadband Speed (Mbps) | Universities Per 100k Population | Overall Rank |
| 1. Cambridge | 72.5% | £30,855 | 1.44 | 40.4 | 1.53 | 253 |
| 2=. Brighton | 70.6% | £30,314 | 1.45 | 42.3 | 0.73 | 237 |
| 2=. Oxford | 71.6% | £29,811 | 1.43 | 39.2 | 1.19 | 237 |
| 3. Edinburgh | 69.7% | £29,465 | 1.48 | 37.2 | 0.86 | 225 |
| 4. Cardiff | 67.7% | £27,101 | 1.51 | 42.1 | 1.16 | 217 |
| 5. Portsmouth | 67.4% | £26,063 | 1.50 | 43.7 | 0.49 | 212 |
| 6=. Bath | 64.5% | £29,842 | 1.48 | 29.4 | 2.25 | 210 |
| 6=. Bristol | 68.2% | £27,519 | 1.53 | 39.9 | 0.45 | 210 |
| 8. Winchester | 61.1% | £36,289 | 1.61 | 29.1 | 2.21 | 208 |
| 9=. Exeter | 69.0% | £27,377 | 1.33 | 37.3 | 1.57 | 203 |
| 9=. Nottingham | 69.8% | £23,346 | 1.30 | 40.0 | 0.63 | 203 |
| 11. Lincoln | 68.4% | £24,435 | 1.39 | 44.4 | 2.14 | 201 |
| 12. London | 68.8% | £33,776 | 1.78 | 16.9 | 0.46 | 198 |
| 13. Chelmsford | 62.6% | £31,839 | 1.63 | 34.1 | 0.90 | 193 |
| 14. Coventry | 66.1% | £28,043 | 1.78 | 25.6 | 0.58 | 192 |
| 15. Southampton | 69.0% | £26,425 | 1.68 | 32.7 | 0.79 | 189 |
| 16. Glasgow | 70.1% | £27,087 | 1.36 | 24.3 | 0.66 | 188 |
| 17. Aberdeen | 70.4% | £29,249 | 1.03 | 19.7 | 0.87 | 187 |
| 18. Liverpool | 68.5% | £25,964 | 1.56 | 30.3 | 0.63 | 185 |
| 19. St Albans | 61.4% | £39,556 | 1.56 | 38.3 | 0.00 | 181 |
| 20. Derby | 63.2% | £28,645 | 1.41 | 37.8 | 0.40 | 178 |
| 21. Canterbury | 64.0% | £27,949 | 1.28 | 18.6 | 5.43 | 177 |
| 22. Gloucester | 63.9% | £26,555 | 1.52 | 42.3 | 0.00 | 175 |
| 23. Lancaster | 63.9% | £28,004 | 1.41 | 19.6 | 3.83 | 171 |
| 24. Chester | 61.8% | £28,695 | 1.44 | 20.3 | 1.23 | 170 |
| 25=. Newcastle | 68.4% | £26,552 | 1.35 | 33.3 | 0.68 | 168 |
| 25=. Norwich | 68.3% | £26,107 | 1.16 | 36.1 | 1.42 | 168 |
| 27. Dundee | 66.5% | £24,854 | 1.20 | 41.2 | 1.35 | 167 |
| 28. Leeds | 65.8% | £27,861 | 1.55 | 27.6 | 0.39 | 165 |
| 29. Stirling | 64.9% | £31,265 | 1.25 | 16.9 | 2.19 | 161 |
| 30. Worcester | 65.3% | £26,487 | 1.46 | 21.9 | 0.99 | 160 |
| 31. Preston | 65.9% | £24,686 | 1.41 | 35.5 | 0.81 | 159 |
| 32. Birmingham | 64.1% | £25,996 | 1.81 | 26.1 | 0.45 | 158 |
| 33. Leicester | 66.8% | £22,199 | 1.50 | 35.2 | 0.58 | 156 |
| 34. Manchester | 70.6% | £24,137 | 1.57 | 19.6 | 0.57 | 155 |
| 35. Peterborough | 63.4% | £24,765 | 1.75 | 37.4 | 0.00 | 153 |
| 36=. Salford | 65.7% | £25,286 | 1.48 | 32.9 | 0.41 | 151 |
| 36=. Swansea | 63.5% | £25,345 | 1.20 | 42.6 | 0.83 | 151 |
| 38. Newport | 62.4% | £25,105 | 1.49 | 34.1 | 0.68 | 149 |
| 39=. York | 66.4% | £26,133 | 1.25 | 29.2 | 0.97 | 146 |
| 39=. W’hampton | 62.8% | £23,001 | 1.63 | 39.2 | 0.39 | 146 |
| 39=. Plymouth | 64.7% | £25,026 | 1.12 | 43.1 | 0.76 | 146 |
| 42. Chichester | 57.1% | £30,074 | 1.36 | 19.0 | 3.73 | 145 |
| 43=. Sunderland | 64.0% | £25,202 | 1.60 | 29.1 | 0.57 | 144 |
| 43=. Perth | 61.4% | £27,698 | 1.20 | 30.2 | 2.12 | 144 |
| 45. Durham | 63.0% | £24,985 | 1.40 | 20.4 | 2.00 | 132 |
| 46. Sheffield | 65.7% | £26,907 | 1.31 | 27.1 | 0.34 | 130 |
| 47. Inverness | 62.0% | £27,885 | 1.30 | 16.4 | 2.13 | 127 |
| 48. Lichfield | 60.1% | £31,658 | 1.32 | 29.7 | 0.00 | 123 |
| 49. Stoke | 63.2% | £22,826 | 1.40 | 39.4 | 0.40 | 122 |
| 50. Salisbury | 60.6% | £26,917 | 1.33 | 29.2 | 0.00 | 121 |
| 51. Bradford | 62.1% | £24,245 | 1.49 | 33.7 | 0.19 | 116 |
| 52. Ely | 60.8% | £28,196 | 1.42 | 27.8 | 0.00 | 107 |
| 53. Wells | 60.0% | £27,500 | 1.57 | 15.8 | 0.00 | 95 |
| 54. Ripon | 59.6% | £29,037 | 1.36 | 18.1 | 0.00 | 92 |
| 55. Wakefield | 62.8% | £24,289 | 1.59 | 27.3 | 0.00 | 89 |
| 56=. Hull | 66.0% | £23,638 | 1.38 | 16.5 | 0.39 | 88 |
| 56=. Carlisle | 62.0% | £23,312 | 1.19 | 21.0 | 1.33 | 88 |
| 58. Truro | 59.1% | £24,658 | 1.25 | 21.5 | 0.00 | 54 |
| 59. Hereford | 59.8% | £24,945 | 1.16 | 18.2 | 0.00 | 51 |
| 60. Bangor | 60.6% | £21,915 | 1.29 | 19.9 | 0.00 | 47 |
How did your city fare? Are you running a business in one of the best or worst spots? If so, how do you find it? Is talent readily available? Do you struggle from slow broadband speeds?