HOT cities

Entrepreneur, Oct, 1999 by Mark Henricks

2. Tacoma, WA

3. Louisville, KY/IN

4. Charleston/North Charleston, SC

5. Pensacola, FL

TOP 20 LARGE CITIES

1. West Palm Beach/Boca Raton, FL

2. Salt Lake City/Ogden, UT

3. Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC

4. Atlanta, GA

5. Orlando, FL

6. Las Vegas, NV/AZ

7. Phoenix/Mesa, AZ

8. Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News, VA/NC

9. Middlesex/Somerset/Hunterdon, NJ

10. Washington, DC/MD/VA/WV

11. Indianapolis, IN

12. Jacksonville, FL

13. Dallas, TX

14. Houston, TX

15. Fort Lauderdale, FL

16. Cincinnati, OH/KY/IN

17. San Jose, CA

18. Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock Hill, NC/SC

19. Austin/San Marcos, TX

20. Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, WA

Top 5 SOUTHEAST

1. West Palm Beach/Boca Raton, FL (1(*))

2. Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC (3)

3. Atlanta, GA (4)

5. Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Newport News, VA/NC (8)

* overall ranking

TOP 5 CENTRAL

1. Indianapolis, IN (11(*))

2. Dallas, TX (13)

3. Houston, TX (14)

4. Cincinnati, OH/KY/IN (16)

5. Austin/San Marcos, TX (19)

* overall ranking

BEST BETS

ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY

1. Las Vegas, NV/AZ (16(*))

2. Orlando, FL (5)

2. Salt Lake City/Ogden, UT (2)

4. Monmouth/Ocean, NJ (31)

5. Austin/San Marcos, TX (19)

* overall ranking

BEST BETS

LOWEST FAILURE RATES

1. Cincinnati, OH/KY/IN (16(*))

2. Indianapolis, IN (11)

2. New Orleans, LA (41)

4. West Palm Beach/Boca Raton, FL (1)

5. Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, NC (38)

* overall ranking

TOP 5 NORTHEAST

1. Middlesex/Somerset/Hunterdon, NJ (99(*))

2. New York, NY (23)

3. Boston, MA/NH (28)

4. Monmouth/Ocean, NJ (31)

5. Bergen/Passaic, NJ (33)

* overall ranking

TOP 4 MOUNTAIN

1. Salt Lake City/Ogden, UT (2(*))

2. Las Vegas, NV/AZ (6)

3. Phoenix/Mesa, AZ (7)

4. Denver, CO (21)

* overall ranking

TOP 5 WEST

1. San Jose, CA (17(*))

2. Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, WA (20)

3. Orange County, CA (22)

4. Portland/Vancouver, OR/WA (26)

5. San Diego, CA (30)

* overall ranking

BEST BETS

ECONOMIC GROWTH

1. Las Vegas, NV/AZ (6(*))

1. New York, NY (23)

3. Phoenix/Mesa, AZ (7)

4. Orlando, FL (5)

5. West Palm Beach/Boca Raton, FL (1)

* overall ranking

BEST BETS

SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH

1. Charlotte/Gastonia/Rock Hill, NC/SC (18(*))

2. Las Vegas, NV/AZ (6)

3. Salt Lake City/Ogden, UT (2)

4. Washington, DC/MD/VA/WV (10)

5. Dallas, TX (13)

* overall ranking

NO. 1: WEST PALM BEACH/BOCA RATON, FLORIDA

Innovation. Plenty of disposable income. A diversified economy. A skilled work force. And a quality of life that makes you say "Ahhhh . . ."

That's the simplest way to sum up the No. 1 city on Dun & Bradstreet and Entrepreneur's 1999 list of hot spots for small businesses. But that doesn't begin to explain why the West Palm Beach/Boca Raton area - affectionately known as the "Treasure Coast" - continues Florida's tradition of populating our list.

Thirty years ago, as was the case with most other areas of Florida, tourism and agribusiness dominated the Palm Beach County economy. But that changed with the birth of the personal computer, created by then-local IBM in Boca Raton. Although long gone from the area, Big Blue's legacy includes highly skilled workers and a technological infrastructure that's helped the county develop a high-tech hub on Blue Lake - prompting the moniker-in-the-making Silicon Beach.