Dixie Cullen #17 on Houston Business Journals Fastest Growing Woman Owned Businesses

Beyond The List: Texas, Houston among best places for women-owned businesses

Sep 25, 2014, 2:47pm CDT

Madison Henry

Research director-Houston Business Journal

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September 26th  the Houston Business Journal will release its rankings for the Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Businesses List and a new List of the Largest Women-Owned Businesses, ranked by locally generated revenue. The businesses on The Lists represent a tiny fraction of the women-owned businesses (WOBs) in Houston.

According to The State of Women-Owned Businesses, 2014, a report published by American Express OPEN, there are more than 178,500 women-owned businesses in the Houston metro area, representing 24 percent of all women-owned businesses in Texas. Between 2002 and 2014, the number of women-owned businesses in Texas increased 52 percent, the fifth-fastest in the nation.

Texas ranked as the ninth best state for women-owned businesses, tied with Utah. The rankings were based on the number of women-owned businesses in the state, the revenue growth between 2002 and 2014 and growth in number of employees in the same period.

1. North Dakota
2. District of Columbia
3. Nevada
4. Arizona
5. Georgia
6. Wyoming
7. Virginia
8. Maryland
9. Texas and Utah (tied)

Among the metro areas with the greatest increase in number of WOBs, Houston was beat out by fellow Texas markets San Antonio, which ranked first, and Dallas, which came in second. The number of WOBs increased 86 percent in San Antonio and 63 in Dallas. However, Houston dominated when it came to overall revenue increase: WOBs in Houston increased revenues by 112 percent between 2002 and 2014.

It's no surprise Houston's WOB are growing. Companies on this year's List of Fastest-Growing Women-Owned Businesses increased revenues 56 percent on average between 2012 and 2013 and generated combined revenues of $1.34 billion. Companies that ranked on The List must be at least 51 percent women-owned and have generated at least $1 million in revenue in 2013.

In the overall rankings of the metro areas, San Antonio enjoys the top spot, followed by a four-way tie that includes Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, and Portland. The sixth through tenth places are filled by: Washington, D.C.; Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, Florida; Seattle; Dallas; and Riverside, California.

The companies on the Largest Women-Owned Businesses generated a combined $1.79 billion in revenues for 2013 and employ 3,700 people in the Houston area.