Startup Snapshot: Oklahoma City

Snapshot: Oklahoma City
Pop.: 591,967
Pop. with college degree: 27.9 percent
Median home value: $129,300
Median household income: $44,973

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Oklahoma City may not receive the buzz generated by the startup communities in California and on the East Coast, but its low cost of living and labor, central location in middle America, good schools and low taxes and regulations have turned it into what looks like an entrepreneurial paradise.

'Trep Turf 3 more cities ripe for startups1. Kansas City Reason: Google's wiring the city (on both the Kansas and Missouri sides) with the fastest internet connection in the country.2. Las Vegas Reason: Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to create a startup culture from scratch.3. Portland, Ore. Reason: A host of cloud-technology businesses have given it a new nickname: Cloud City.

"There's strong access to capital here and an aggressive financial attitude among the banking community to fund new businesses," says Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Oklahoma City Chamber. "And there's a core of entrepreneurs here to help new businesses get off the ground, because they got help back when they started."

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

If that sounds like a description for any healthy startup community, it is. But Williams points out a subtle difference: "We attract businesses that'd rather be a bigger fish in a smaller pond instead of competing against everyone fighting for attention on the coasts."

The choice, then, is yours: Do you set up shop in a city where rent, taxes and payroll costs exert significant pressure to succeed quickly or run out of cash, or do you move to a place like Oklahoma City (or to one of the other metro areas listed here), where you can buy more time to figure out your strategy and build a sustainable company? Whatever the case, know that you have options.