A 2017 analysis by national finance website WalletHub compared the business climate of over 1200 small cities, and Bangor came out as the top place in Maine to start a business.
Using 16 key metrics including average growth in number of small businesses, real estate and labor costs, number of startups per capita, and access to capital, Bangor ranked ahead of other Maine cities with a total score of 40.6 and ranking of 434 out of 1261 cities.
“Bangor has worked diligently to make ourselves an ideal small city for economic development and business activity,” said Council Chair Joseph M. Baldacci, a local small business owner himself. “Our City’s efforts to focus on both the entrepreneurial ecosystem and quality of life assets have made Bangor a location of choice. We expect to see even more of this growth in the future, as more businesses prioritize location and quality of life as critical factors in their location decisions.”
The City of Bangor has a team of economic development professionals poised to assist any existing or prospective business that is interested in learning more. Additional information about business resources can be found on the City’s website, www.bangormaine.gov/ced.