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