Raleigh ranks No. 5 for ‘highest-earning’ female entrepreneurs in US; NC ranks No.15

RALEIGH – Ladies, listen up: If you want to start a business, it pays to set up shop in in Raleigh. That’s according to a new study released by Volusion, a company which designs e-commerce websites.

Raleigh ranks No.5 for large metros (a population of 1 million or more) as the highest-earning market for female entrepreneurs.

After a cost of living adjustment, the average annual income for full-time female entrepreneurs is $51,975 .

That’s roughly $12,000 more than the median annual income for full-time female entrepreneurs in the U.S. ($40,000) and almost $5,000 more than the median income for full-time female workers ($47,400) in Raleigh.

When compared to 256 U.S. markets, however, Raleigh ranked No. 42, with around 7.8 percent of female workers in Raleigh that are entrepreneurs.

Durham was not included in the report.

Out of all states, North Carolina (the 9th largest state in terms of population) has the 15th highest-earning female entrepreneurs in the U.S. – with the median income around $41,621.

Other findings

Among large metros, Denver boasted the highest adjusted median income ($56,444), even after accounting for Denver’s above-average cost of living.

Other North Carolina cities appeared in the report.

For small metros (100,000-350,000 population), Goldsboro ranked No.2 with an adjusted income of $107,143, while Fayetteville came on at No.26 with an adjusted income of $44,843 and Greensboro, Highpoint ranked No. 66 with an adjusted income of $33,445.

For mid-size metros (350,000-1 million (population), Asheville ranked No. 10 with an income of $51,836.

Volusion researchers used data from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Economic Analysis to calculate a comparable metric of purchasing power across locations.

The researchers adjusted median incomes for full-time female entrepreneurs up or down based on each location’s relative cost of living. In highly expensive cities, like San Francisco, cost-of-living adjusted incomes are lower than actuals; whereas, in more affordable cities, such as Cincinnati, cost-of-living adjusted incomes are higher than actuals.

All locations were ranked based on the cost-of-living adjusted income for female entrepreneurs.