Southeastern Cities Lead Top 100 Metros in New Franchise Interest Index™

March 10, 2020 – Atlanta, Ga., enjoys the nation’s highest interest in buying a franchise, according to the latest analysis of the Top 100 metropolitan areas.

Southeastern metros dominated the top 20 leaders in the  Franchise Interest Index(TM), with multiple major metro areas ranked in Florida and Texas, as well as high-interest from mid-sized metros in North and South Carolina. 

While the nation’s largest population centers lead the overall volume of franchise inquiries, the Franchise Interest Index(TM) highlights regions of any size where entrepreneurial interest is higher than average, a signal of future business investment and economic growth potential.

The analysis applied the Franchise Interest Index(TM) to 106 MSAs (metropolitan statistical areas) with more than 500,000 in total population. Using franchise-investment inquiries drawn from the Franchise Ventures’ proprietary demand-generation platform, the Franchise Interest IndexTM reveals the relative interest of entrepreneurs indexed to adult population age 22+ on a per capita basis for the full year of 2019.

  • The Atlanta MSA led the Top 10 with an index of 218 last year, more than twice the average interest in franchising. As the largest metro in the state, Atlanta clearly helped propel Georgia to the top state in the Franchise Interest IndexTM for the year.
  • Atlanta was one of four regions in the Top 10 with populations over 5 million. The other major metros in the Top 10 were the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale at No. 5, Houston at No. 7, and Dallas-Fort Worth at No. 10.
  • Large metros with population between 1 million and 5 million claimed another four spots in the top – Orlando, with an index of 174, was No. 3, Las Vegas was No. 4, Jacksonville, Fla., was No. 6,  and Raleigh, N.C, was No. 8.
  • Mid-sized metros with population between 500,000 and 1 million claimed two more spots in the Top 10 for entrepreneurial interest. Durham-Chapel, N.C., was No. 2 overall, with an index of 203, and Baton Rouge, La., was No. 9 with an index of 148.

Here is a full list of the Top 100 MSAs in the Franchise Interest IndexTM. An index of 100 indicates average per-capita interest, while an index of 120 represents 20% higher-than-average interest. 

Metro Areas Ranked by Franchise Interest  Index(TM)

Metro MSAFranchise Interest Index TM 2019
1.Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA218
2.Durham-Chapel Hill, NC203
3.Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL174
4.Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV166
5.Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL163
6.Jacksonville, FL158
7.Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX156
8.Raleigh, NC155
9.Baton Rouge, LA148
10.Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX146
11.Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL144
12.Columbia, SC144
13.Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC143
14.Jackson, MS142
15.Charleston-North Charleston, SC137
16.Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL134
17.Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV125
18.Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL124
19.New Orleans-Metairie, LA123
20.Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC122
21.Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC122
22.Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC122
23.Greensboro-High Point, NC122
24.Stockton-Lodi, CA117
25.Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR114
26.Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD114
27.Colorado Springs, CO113
28.Richmond, VA112
29.Provo-Orem, UT111
30.Birmingham-Hoover, AL110
31.Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI110
32.Memphis, TN-MS-AR110
33.Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN110
34.Austin-Round Rock, TX108
35.North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL108
36.Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL107
37.San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX103
38.El Paso, TX101
39.Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL101
40.Winston-Salem, NC101
41.Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD101
42.Columbus, OH100
43.Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA100
44.Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ100
45.Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA99
46.Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT98
47.Cleveland-Elyria, OH98
48.Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO97
49.Akron, OH97
50.New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA96
51.Lexington-Fayette, KY96
52.Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN96
53.Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ93
54.Modesto, CA91
55.Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA91
56.Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN90
57.Tulsa, OK90
58.McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX90
59.St. Louis, MO-IL89
60.Boise City, ID89
61.Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI88
62.Bakersfield, CA88
63.Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA87
64.Oklahoma City, OK86
65.Kansas City, MO-KS84
66.Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO83
67.Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA83
68.Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI81
69.Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN80
70.Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA78
71.Salt Lake City, UT78
72.Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA77
73.Toledo, OH77
74.Chattanooga, TN-GA76
75.New Haven-Milford, CT76
76.Ogden-Clearfield, UT75
77.San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA74
78.San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA74
79.Albuquerque, NM74
80.San Diego-Carlsbad, CA73
81.Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI72
82.Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA71
83.Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT70
84.Wichita, KS69
85.Knoxville, TN69
86.Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton, PA68
87.Springfield, MA68
88.Worcester, MA-CT67
89.Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA67
90.Fresno, CA66
91.Tucson, AZ66
92.Urban Honolulu, HI66
93.Pittsburgh, PA66
94.Lancaster, PA65
95.Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH65
96.Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY65
97.Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI62
98.Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA62
99.Rochester, NY60
100.Providence-Warwick, RI-MA59
101.Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY58
102.Syracuse, NY58
103.Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA57
104.Madison, WI54
105.Santa Rosa, CA51
106.Portland-South Portland, ME47

FranchiseVentures is the leading demand– and lead-generation platform for potential franchisees to thousands of growing franchise systems in the United States and Canada. Its franchise lead generation brands include Franchise.com, Franchise Solutions, Franchise Gator, Franchise Opportunities, Franchise For Sale, SmallBusinessStartup.com and BusinessBroker.net, and together they provide the largest aggregation of prospective franchise buyers in the U.S.

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Published on Tuesday, March 10th, 2020.

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