Silicon Valley is the most famous place for startups to thrive, but it's far from the only one. A recent report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation took a look at what areas of the United States had the highest density of high-tech startups.
It broke down which metro areas have seen a rapid rise in the number of startups, and which are coasting on a strong base. Silicon Valley's dominance isn't surprising, but perhaps more so is the rapid rise of places like Kansas City, Portland, and Salt Lake City.
Interestingly, the strongest influence on startup density isn't a strong research university in the area, but a concentration of established companies that help spin them off.
20. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.
1990 rank: 15
Top companies: Qualcomm, Illumina, Isis Pharmaceuticals
San Diego's particularly well known as a hub for biotech companies, driven by UC San Diego and its medical center, but there's a large telecom and technology presence as well.
19. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.
1990 rank: Outside of top 20
Top companies: iSeatz.com, Kickboard, Entergy
In the aftermath of Katrina, there's been a flood of young, ambitious, and driven people hoping to help reinvent the city. As a result, many more people are starting companies there than ever before, and an increasing infrastructure is being built to support them. There's still a long way to go though.
18. Kansas City, Mo./Kan.
1990 rank: Outside of top 20
Top companies: Sprint, Cerner, Perceptive Software
Kansas City was the first city to get on the ultra-fast Google Fiber broadband network, which has brought a flood of startups to the area. It has a long history of companies spinning off other innovative companies, as this massive map tracing its tech scene's development shows.
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