Jefferson and Shelby County rank among highest in Alabama for small business owners—here’s why

Trains by Railroad Park
Gotta love those Railroad Park views. GIF via Matthew Niblett for Bham Now.

It’s no secret that Birminghamians love supporting local businesses—but now we’ve got the data to prove it. According to a study by SmartAsset, both Shelby and Jefferson County ranked among the best in Alabama for places to own a small business.

Where we ranked

Out of over 50 counties in the state, the Birmingham metro area came out on top for best places to own a small business in Alabama. Coming in at #1 is Shelby County with 26.8% in small business returns—way to go! Jefferson County follows closely behind them at #3, with 24.4% in small business returns. This is great news.

The rankings are determined using three factors:

  • # of people in a county with small business income
  • the reported business income
  • amount of potential resident income taxes

Shelby County had 10.29% in small business income and Jefferson County came in just below that with 10.07%. That means a lot of local businesses are being uplifted by their community.

We love supporting local

Shop small—Jefferson and Shelby county rank highest in Alabama for small business owners
Shopping small is the best way to go. Photo via Bham Now

These numbers show that small business owners can thrive in many different counties in Alabama. Clay, Mobile, Cullman, Winston, Baldwin, Lee, Houston and Marshall counties all also made the top 10.

Now more than ever, it’s important to continue to support our favorite local businesses. We’ve made it easy to lend a hand with our #ShopLocal guide:

All we do is win 🏆

We’re no stranger to ranking high on the list. Check out the other ways we’ve won big (there’s a lot):

…we could go on and on.

Keep doing you Birmingham! Let’s keep this incredible list of accolades growing.

What’s your favorite Birmingham small biz? Tag us @bhamnow and let us know!

Gabby Gervais
Gabby Gervais
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