Women-owned businesses in Dallas are booming

Openings of women-owned businesses in Dallas-Fort Worth increased 21% last year compared to 2022, per Yelp data.

Why it matters: Nearly a quarter of Texas small businesses are woman-owned, more than the national average.

• And, the state has a higher share of small businesses owned by women of color than the national average, per Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas research.

Driving the news: Women-owned business openings rose 17% nationwide, Axios' Analis Bailey reports.

• The Los Angeles (4,741), New York City (3,189), Miami (2,190), Dallas (1,898) and Atlanta (1,858) metro areas saw the highest overall number of new women-owned businesses in 2023, according to Yelp.

Zoom out: Dallas also ranked fourth nationwide among metros that saw the most new business openings in 2023 with 24,322 total openings.

The intrigue: Women opened more businesses traditionally dominated by men, such as plumbing and HVAC repair, the Yelp report found.

• They opened more home service businesses than beauty businesses last year.

Reality check: Women-owned businesses rebounded more slowly after the pandemic, and small businesses owned by women are less likely to receive financing than similar firms owned by men, per the Dallas Fed report

• More than half of men-owned small companies were approved for financing in 2022, compared to about a third of women-owned businesses. And women of color were even less likely to receive financing.

The bottom line: Women business owners in Texas expressed more optimism about their revenue expectations than male business owners, per the Fed report.

• About 70% of women business owners expected revenue growth through the end of last year, compared to 58% of men.