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