White Plains Named a Top Place to Start a Business in New York

Written by LANNING TALIAFERRO (Patch Staff)

White Plains is one of the best places to start a business in New York State, according to new rankings released Monday by NerdWallet.

The site analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau to rank the business climate and economic health of 83 New York communities. NerdWallet restricted its analysis to areas with populations above 5,000.

Four of the top 10 are in the lower Hudson Valley.

White Plains came in at No. 6on their list and was the second Westchester community to be ranked. In White Plains, businesses take in an average annual revenue of $1.5 million, and the unemployment rate is 4.6 percent.

Here’s what they said:

White Plains is the county seat of Westchester County, north of New York City. One of the top commercial centers in the area, White Plains boasts the largest population, 57,153, on our top 10 list, and the most businesses at 9,387. White Plains businesses are booming, bringing in average revenue of over $1.5 million per business annually. TheWhite Plains Downtown Business Improvement District offers supplemental services to its members including marketing and promotion, aesthetic improvements, events and advocacy. The largest business organizations in the area are the Business Council of Westchester in Rye Brook and the Westchester County Association in White Plains. The city is also home to the Mid-Hudson area Entrepreneurial Assistance Program center at the Women’s Enterprise Development Center.

Here are the top 10 places to start a business in New York, according to NerdWallet:

1. Suffern
2. Garden City
3. Mineola
4. Glens Falls
5. Harrison
6. White Plains
7. Ithaca
8. Rockville Centre
9. Mount Kisco
10. Watertown

Other lower Hudson Valley communities with high rankings included Rye (#19), Tarrytown (#21), Scarsdale (#30), Mamaroneck (#32), Dobbs Ferry (#45), New Rochelle (#47), Port Chester (#62), Yonkers (#72), Haverstraw (#73), Ossining (#74) and Peekskill (#75).

Read the full report here.

Patch Editor Alfred Branch contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Rich Mitchell via Flickr Creative Commons