A new ranking from Midwest Startups ranks Pittsburgh third for startups out of 59 cities in the Midwest.
The report is compiled by Chicago early-stage venture capital firm M25, which is solely focused on investing in startups in the Midwest.
It ranks three things: startup activity, access to resources, and business climate. Pittsburgh was ranked third for startup activity, fourth for access to resources, and fourteenth in business climate.
Startup activity is a measure of how active the tech scene is, including the number of startups present, exits and the growth in startup formation. Access to resources considers “quality, quantity and loyalty of the available talent, investor activity, accelerators, universities and government support.”
Business climate includes the cost of living, taxes, GDP per capita, quality of internet, airport and highway infrastructure.
The report cited Pittsburgh’s first unicorn — a startup valued over a billion dollars — the language translation app Duolingo, as a highlight of 2019-20.
Chicago was ranked number one, and Minneapolis was ranked number two. Following Pittsburgh on the list are Indianapolis, St. Louis and Ann Arbor. The top six ranked cities have not changed since last year.
