FARGO, North Dakota
Population: 113,658
Unemployment: 2.8 percent
Leading Industries: Agriculture, Manufacturing
Forbes named Fargo the best small city to start a business in part because it has one of the youngest—55 percent of residents are under 35—and most productive workforces in the nation. The local economy, which is projected to expand 5.5 percent through 2016, has grown in areas such as food processing, manufacturing and technology—and the workforce has grown with it. The number of people working in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) jobs is up 40 percent since 2001.