Pleasanton Ranks in Top 20 of Best Place to Start Business

Do you dream of starting your own business? You’re in the right place.

Pleasanton came in among the top 20 places to start a new business in Northern California, according to a recent survey conducted by NerdWallet. An impressive feat considering the competition in Silicon Valley.

“Business expansion and incubation is very important to us here in Pleasanton, and it’s exciting to get this recognition for our efforts to cultivate a business-friendly climate,” said Nelson Fialho, Pleasanton City Manager.

Related: Pleasanton Ranked #14 on the List of ‘Best Small Cities for Singles’

NerdWallet looked at 177 places throughout Northern California to identify where entrepreneurial efforts thrived. They focused their analysis on those places with populations of 10,000 or more. Part of their findings determined that in addition to the Fortune 500 companies like Oracle, Google, and Facebook, small companies did well, in some measure due to the fact that the state has a network of Small Business Development Centers designed to assist small business owners.

“Our efforts to foster new business helps us increase revenue and decrease unemployment,” said Fialho. “That said, we are also mindful of the fact that we need to strike the proper balance between cultivating a robust local economy while simultaneously retaining our small town charm.”

Related: Pleasanton Ranks #4 on 24/7 Wall Street’s List of America’s 50 Best Cities to Live In

Other key factors for a thriving economy included geographic proximity to the Bay Area and key tourism destinations.

Eight out of the top 10 cities were in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Proximity to iconic destinations such as Yosemite National Park, Monterey, San Francisco and California’s northern coastline were also found to be important.