For the study, researchers analyzed 289 U.S. cities to determine where women business owners can have the most success. NerdWallet based its rankings on eight metrics, including the percentage of businesses owned by women, the businesses' revenue and the percentage of those businesses with paid employees. In addition, the researchers considered the number of businesses per 100 people and the percentage of women with a bachelor's degree or higher in each city.
Researchers also evaluated the median income for women and the unemployment rate of each area.