Study Shows Where the Oldest and Youngest Business Owners Live

There are many kinds of entrepreneurs in the U.S., from family-owned restaurants to tech startups. The team at Ooma studied data on the ages of business owners in every state, then mapped out the results to identify any regional patterns. As we can see from the map, business ownership aspirations aren’t limited to a certain age. The team used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to create their map and examined major metropolitan areas to determine where the oldest and youngest business owners reside.

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The youngest business owners live in Provo-Orem-Lehi, Utah, where the average age of a business owner is a bit below 49. This is lower than the national average by about a decade. Overall, many young entrepreneurs live in Utah. This could be due to the low cost of living and a family-focused culture with plenty of support for younger business owners. Utah’s economic boom surely helps these businesses get off the ground.

These ten cities have the youngest business owners in the country:

• Provo-Orem-Lehi, Utah
• Bozeman, Montana
• Fargo, North Dakota-Minnesota
• Logan, Utah-Idaho
• Ogden, Utah
• George, Utah
• Salt Lake City-Murray, Utah
• Boise City-Idaho
• Lancaster, Pennsylvania
• Kennewick-Richland, Washington

Utah certainly claimed many spots on this list, but we also see that the Rockies and Upper Midwest support a lot of young business owners. University towns and low living costs all help support younger people in gathering the resources to start their own business.

Moving on to the cities with the oldest business owners, we find that Santa Fe, New Mexico, has the oldest business owners, with an average age of around 59 years. Many of the cities topping this list are located in retirement-friendly areas with slower population growth and higher cost of living. This suggests these are more difficult locations to start a small business in, requiring owners to have more resources and experience to get started.

These ten cities have the oldest business owners:

• Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Napa, California
• Monroe, Louisiana
• Kingston, New York
• Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
• Youngstown-Warren, Ohio
• Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, Connecticut
• Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
• Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, South Carolina
• Trenton-Princeton, New Jersey

According to the national data the team collected, most business owners are in their late 40s to early 50s. This might surprise some people, as the media often reports on bright young entrepreneurs founding exciting tech startups. However, consider that there are many different types of small businesses in America. In most cases, starting a successful business requires resources, time, and connections that can only be acquired through age and experience. In general, the spread of ages isn’t very large, so it seems the team has pinpointed the ideal age to start up a business.

This map can provide valuable insights into the American economy, both by region and as a whole. While the team identified some regional patterns in entrepreneurship, it appears that entrepreneurs across the nation share many commonalities.