Springfield ranks 9th for Hispanic entrepreneurs

The Queen City may be learning a thing or two from its sister city.

Springfield — which has a sister city in Tlaquepaque, Mexico — ranked ninth on personal finance website WalletHub.com’s list of the 150 best U.S. cities for Hispanic entrepreneurs.

The study used a range of factors summarized in two categories: Hispanic business-friendliness, which totals 60 out of 100 possible points, and Hispanic purchasing power, representing the remaining 40 points available.

WalletHub ranked Springfield 10th in Hispanic business-friendliness and 17th in Hispanic purchasing power. The city’s total score was 52.38, according to the list.

Springfield’s detailed rankings:
    •    second in average monthly rent for office space;
    •    fifth in Hispanic unemployment rate;
    •    11th in Hispanic population growth;
    •    23rd in Hispanic entrepreneurship rate;
    •    42nd in housing affordability for Hispanics;
    •    64th in percentage of Hispanics with at least a bachelor’s degree; and
    •    79th in Hispanic income growth.

Other Missouri cities on the list were St. Louis, which ranked 57th, and Kansas City, at No. 64. All but one of the top 5 cities were in Texas, with Laredo ranking first with 66.39 points. Pembroke Pines, Florida, came in third, according to the study.

Hispanics made up 3.7 percent of Springfield’s 2010 population of 159,441, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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