Tampa makes top 10 for women-owned businesses in large metros

A new analysis of more than 200 large metropolitan areas across the U.S. has named the Tampa area No. 9 for women-owned businesses to launch and grow in 2026.

The ranking, based on a range of economic, workforce and entrepreneurship metrics, highlights the Tampa area’s strong environment for female entrepreneurs and was conducted by Coworking Cafe, an online marketplace and directory for flexible working spaces. 

According to Coworking Cafe’s new report, women-owned businesses account for 23.5% of all firms in the Tampa metro area, which the study found reflects an active and growing community of female entrepreneurs. That mirrors the national rate, where women-owned businesses now account for nearly 23% of all U.S. firms. 

Women-owned firms support 92,078 jobs across the Tampa metro area, the study found, and women’s labor force participation stands at 57.1%. Additionally, 33.5% of women in the Tampa metro area hold a bachelor’s degree or higher and 20.2% hold a bachelor’s degree in business, supporting a steady entrepreneurial pipeline.

To find out which metro areas give women entrepreneurs the best chance to launch their business, Coworking Cafe analyzed metropolitan areas across three pillars: Women’s entrepreneurship, economic context and labor and talent pool. For a fair comparison, metros were divided into “large” with more than 1 million residents; “mid-sized” with 500,000 to 1 million residents; and “small” with under 500,000 residents. 

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“The rankings reveal a clear national pattern: the South is the dominant force in women’s entrepreneurship across all three population brackets,” the study says. “Strong population growth, expanding local economies and favorable cost conditions are fueling new firm formation.”

Yet while the South leads in growth and formation, midwest metropolitan areas stood out for affordability and stability, the study says. Coastal cities, when they appear at all in the rankings, lead in earnings and talent density, “but at a price that increasingly makes them a hard sell for early-stage founders mindful of their runway,” the study says. 

Tampa ranked behind Miami, Jacksonville and Orlando, which were Nos. 6, 7 and 8, respectively. Austin was the No. 1 large metropolitan area for women owned businesses, with 25.6% of all firms in the area owned by women.