5 Best Cities in The UK for Women to Start a Business
New data from payments provider Dojo, part of the Paymentsense brand, has looked at the best cities for women to start a business.
By analyzing data from the past year, the index has revealed the cities where women should open business and compared this with the top cities to start a business overall.
Dojo analyzed the following criteria to assess which city in the UK has the best working conditions for women to start a business:
- 5-year start-up survival rate
- The % of businesses that survive longer than 5 years - Cost of living
- The amount of money it costs to live day-to-day - Average Weekly Pay
- How much the average full-time worker earns - Female employees
- Number of female employees - Female business owners
- Number of females that are self-employed - Gender pay gap
- Where in the UK has the lowest gender pay gap
It turns out York is the best city for women to start a business in the UK.
TOP UK Cities to Start a Business If You're a Woman – RANKED
The full results are as follows:
#1 York, North Yorkshire
⭐ Female bosses: 9.2%
⭐ Women in work: 66.3%
Today York is proudly championing it's female-owned and run businesses, with women-only-networking groups such as 'York Women Mean Business' enabling growth and knowledge sharing across the city. York consistently scored highly in the study as a city with the 3rd highest 5-year start-up survival rate at 47.7% and the 5th highest for female bosses.
Catherine Paver in 1971 established footwear company Pavers, which has over 100 stores.
#2 Wakefield, West Yorkshire
⭐Female bosses: 5.1%
⭐Women in work: 66.2%
Wakefield scored second place in both categories of the best places to start a business as a woman and where to start a business overall meaning this West Yorkshire city is a top choice for both men and women. Like York, the city has several networking opportunities for women, including Wakefield Women's Business Club.
#3 Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
⭐Women in work: 64.3%
⭐Female bosses: 4.7%
Like Wakefield, Stoke-on-Trend was also consistent in its score across both indexes.
Bet365, a hugely successful gambling platform, is based in Stoke and was founded and is run by Denise Coates – the best-paid female executive in the world. Denise was paid £265 million in 2018. For reference, Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, received £80 million.
#4 Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
⭐Women in work: 66.3%
⭐Female bosses: 4.4%
Although the North East admits that diversity in businesses is lacking, there are several strong female leaders across the North East in companies such as Virgin Money's Jayne-Anne Gadhia and Alice Hall, the founder of the Pink Boutique.
#5 Wolverhampton, West Midlands
⭐Women in work: 62.1%
⭐Female bosses: 4.7%
Caitlyn Moran, a successful journalist, comedian and best-selling author, grew up in Wolverhampton. Last year, entrepreneur and founder of the plastic-free cosmetics company Stript Becky Shuck used Natwest's Back Her Business incentive to raise £2,000.
Rank
City
Population
Total Score
1
York
164,369
433
2
Wakefield
107,546
353
3
Stoke-on-Trent
278,137
289
4
Sunderland
174,807
286
5
Wolverhampton
246,247
281
6
Southampton
269,750
261
7
Plymouth
265,792
244
8
Perth
47,430
244
9
Hereford
55,800
231
10
Peterborough
178,805
22
11
Sheffield
552,143
222
12
Lancaster
497,000
200
13
Portsmouth
229,851
192
14
Swansea
185,460
186
15
Nottingham
315,987
156
BEST UK Cities to Start a Business Overall
Starting a business anywhere within the UK will always start off as a challenge, but below are the top five places within the UK to start a business in general. Wolverhampton scored 161.1 on the index, whilst Wakefield scored 155.6, Stoke-on-Trent 127.8, Sheffield 127.8, and Southampton at 125.
The index was ranked on the five-year startup survival rate of new businesses, cost of living, and an average weekly full-time salary.
Rank
City
Population
Total Score
1
Wolverhampton
246,247
161.1
2
Wakefield
107,546
155.6
3
Stoke-on-Trent
278,137
127.8
4
Sheffield
552,143
127.8
5
Southampton
269,750
125.0
6
Sunderland
174,807
119.4
7
Lancaster
497,000
111.1
8
Portsmouth
229,851
105.6
9
Plymouth
265,792
100.0
10
Peterborough
178,805
94.4
11
Nottingham
315,987
91.7
12
Glasgow
1,673,000
66.7
13
Manchester
563,185
66.7
14
Coventry
382,073
61.1
15
Leicester
415,543
61.1
