TYSONS, VA (November 19, 2025) |
The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting veterans in their transition from service to success in civilian life, announced the findings of its annual study on the top U.S. cities for veteran entrepreneurs. The Foundation’s Veteran Entrepreneur Program, which is designed to equip veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs with the tools to grow their network and scale their businesses, conducted the study in partnership with Polco and the National Research Center (NRC).
According to the 2025 study, Washington D.C. claimed the top spot as the best city for veterans to start a business. Raleigh took second place, and Tampa made major improvements, moving from 13th to third place. Each metropolitan area was measured by livability, support for veterans, economic growth, and ability to start a business. The study also ranked the top 20 small-sized cities for veteran entrepreneurs, highlighting opportunities for success in both big cities and smaller markets. The full study results can be found here.
“Our nation’s veterans bring leadership, discipline, and an unwavering commitment to every challenge they take on,” said Andrea McCarren, President of the PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes. “Those same qualities make them exceptional entrepreneurs. This study shines a spotlight on the cities that are creating real opportunities for veterans to thrive as business owners.”
The top 20 large cities for veteran entrepreneurs include:
Rank City
1 Washington-Arlington-
2 Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area
3 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area
4 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area
5 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area
6 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area
7 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area
8 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area
9 Cleveland, OH Metro Area
10 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area
11 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area
12 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA Metro Area
13 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area
14 Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV Metro Area
15 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area
16 Nashville-Davidson-
17 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA Metro Area
18 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area
19 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT Metro Area
20 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area
The top 20 small cities for veteran entrepreneurs include:
Rank City
1 Cheyenne, WY
2 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
3 Sioux Falls, SD-MN
4 Rapid City, SD
5 Columbia, MO
6 Grand Island, NE
7 Colorado Springs, CO
8 Omaha, NE-IA
9 Fargo, ND-MN
10 Fayetteville, NC
11 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
12 Lincoln, NE
13 Madison, WI
14 Lexington-Fayette, KY
15 Casper, WY
16 Boise City, ID
17 Portland-South Portland, ME
18 Abilene, TX
19 Grand Forks, ND-MN
20 Asheville, NC
This ranking was developed using data from more than 30 publicly available sources, including government and nonprofit databases. A total of 53 quantitative indicators were applied to assess the entrepreneurial environments for veteran entrepreneurs across 387 metropolitan statistical areas.
Since 2018, the Veteran Entrepreneur Program has helped over 120 veteran and military spouse founders grow and scale their businesses through mentorship, media training, and access to capital, through its accelerator program in Bentonville, Arkansas and Tysons, Virginia. The accelerator program will expand to San Antonio and Pittsburg in 2026. The foundation will also launch an Incubator program for early and idea-stage veteran or military spouse founded businesses focused on validating, shaping, and communicating business concepts into testable, launch-ready models. The program will launch in five geographic locations in 2026 including Raleigh, NC, Pittsburgh, Pa., Tysons, Va, New York, New York and Boston, Mass. The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes covers all costs and takes no equity in participating companies.
