You’d never know it from the new buildings and restaurants that seem to sprout up seemingly overnight, but Jersey City is a tough place to start a business. At least that’s what a new study from the financial website WalletHub concludes. Of the 100 cities in its ranking of 2023’s best large cities to start a business, Jersey City placed 98th.
WalletHub rated the cities on the three dimensions: “Business Environment,” “Access to Resources” and “Business Costs.” Jersey City came in at 67, 70 and 93 respectively.
On such measures as “Cost of Living,” “Office Space Affordability” and “Corporate Taxes,” Jersey City scored very poorly. But, as one familiar with Jersey City might predict, it scored toward the top on “Share of College Educated Population,” “Human Capital Availability” and “Industry Variety.”
Emory A. Edwards, President and CEO of the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, thinks the study is misleading. “Jersey City is a great place to do business.” However, to the extent that there are challenges, says Edwards, it’s the result of Jersey City’s success. “The business community came Downtown and built a lot of headquarters, brought in a lot of jobs which let to the city’s growth.” But, he says, the cost of living “presents challenges for the workforce.” But ultimately, these are “growing pains” he says.
One consolation may be that Jersey City was joined at the bottom by New York City, which placed 97th. Dead last was Washington D.C.