Metro Denver sees spike in new women-owned businesses
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Women-owned business openings in metro Denver increased 25% from 2022 to 2023, marking one of the highest growth rates in the country.
By the numbers: 773 women-owned businesses opened locally in 2023, compared to 620 in 2022, Axios' Analis Bailey reports from new Yelp data.
The big picture: Women-owned business openings rose 17% nationwide.
- Only Austin, Texas (34%), Miami (31%) and Washington, D.C. (25%) had higher growth rates than Denver among U.S. metros with at least 500 openings in 2023, according to Yelp.
What they're saying: "I do see this ecosystem as exceptionally supportive for women," Kate Bailey, founder of Tarra, a women's co-working and membership club in Denver, tells us.
- Bailey says local organizations like the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce and the Alliance of Professional Women are also contributing factors.
- Tarra, which has more than 400 members since opening its doors in September 2022, is not exclusively for women; at least 15% of its members identify as men, Bailey tells us. She plans on expanding nationally in 2025.
Zoom in: Colorado as a whole had the highest year-over-year change in all new business applications (+115%) between December 2022 and December 2023, per Census Bureau data.
- One major factor: The state temporarily lowered costs for filing for a new business from $50 to $1 between 2022 and 2023, writes Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Alice Feng.
Zoom out: 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.