New Publicly Traded Companies

The number of companies' initial public stock offerings as a share of gross metropolitan product.

Why Is This Important? In the last two decades, financial markets have embraced entrepreneurial dynamism. The number of initial public offerings (first rounds of companies' stock sold when they make their debut in public markets) has risen by 50 percent between the 1960s and the 1990s. While the number of IPOs priced and filed fell from 1,095 in 1999 to 489 in 2000, the number is still quite high relative to earlier years. IPOs are important because they indicate the degree to which an economy is producing companies that have long-term and substantial growth potential.

The Rankings: Most metropolitan areas that score well on the IPO indicator, such as San Francisco and Seattle, do so because they are producing a large number of start-ups with growth potential. West Palm Beach scores well, reflecting its growing high-tech presence - the area is known as the Internet Coast. Some areas that score high on other indicators, score low on IPOs (e.g., Raleigh, Washington, D.C., and Salt Lake City) suggesting that their economies may not be as entrepreneurial as they could be.

		100th-76th Percentile
		75th-51st Percentile
		50th-26th Percentile
		25th-1st Percentile

METRO AREAS BY RANK
Rank	Metro Area	Score
1	San Francisco	32.3
2	Seattle	28.1
3	West Palm Beach	11.8
4	Boston	10.0
5	Austin	9.4
6	Denver	7.5
7	San Diego	6.9
8	Atlanta	5.5
9	Oklahoma City	5.1
10	New York	4.5
11	Portland	4.1
12	Philadelphia	3.9
13	Miami	3.8
14	Houston	3.6
15	Minneapolis	3.6
16	Chicago	3.5
17	Washington	3.5
18	Kansas City	3.4
19	Dallas	3.3
20	Phoenix	3.0
21	Los Angeles	2.7
22	Raleigh-Durham	2.5
23	Nashville	2.4
24	Cincinnati	2.4
25	Rochester	2.4
26	Salt Lake City	2.4
27	Greensboro	2.3
28	Las Vegas	2.1
29	St. Louis	1.8
30	Hartford	1.7
31	Louisville	1.4
32	Memphis	1.4
33	Pittsburgh	1.4
34	Tampa	1.4
35	Indianapolis	1.0
36	Charlotte	0.9
37	Columbus	0.9
38	Milwaukee	0.9
39	Sacramento	0.8
40	Detroit	0.6
41	Cleveland	0.5
42	Buffalo	0.0
42	Dayton	0.0
42	Grand Rapids	0.0
42	Jacksonville	0.0
42	New Orleans	0.0
42	Norfolk	0.0
42	Orlando	0.0
42	Richmond	0.0
42	San Antonio	0.0
	U.S. Average	4.0
	Top 50 Metro Average	4.8

ALPHABETICALLY
Metro Area	Rank	Score
Atlanta	8	5.5
Austin	5	9.4
Boston	4	10.0
Buffalo	42	0.0
Charlotte	36	0.9
Chicago	16	3.5
Cincinnati	24	2.4
Cleveland	41	0.5
Columbus	37	0.9
Dallas	19	3.3
Dayton	42	0.0
Denver	6	7.5
Detroit	40	0.6
Grand Rapids	42	0.0
Greensboro	27	2.3
Hartford	30	1.7
Houston	14	3.6
Indianapolis	35	1.0
Jacksonville	42	0.0
Kansas City	18	3.4
Las Vegas	28	2.1
Los Angeles	21	2.7
Louisville	31	1.4
Memphis	32	1.4
Miami	13	3.8
Milwaukee	38	0.9
Minneapolis	15	3.6
Nashville	23	2.4
New Orleans	42	0.0
New York	10	4.5
Norfolk	42	0.0
Oklahoma City	9	5.1
Orlando	42	0.0
Philadelphia	12	3.9
Phoenix	20	3.0
Pittsburgh	33	1.4
Portland	11	4.1
Raleigh-Durham	22	2.5
Richmond	42	0.0
Rochester	25	2.4
Sacramento	39	0.8
Salt Lake City	26	2.4
San Antonio	42	0.0
San Diego	7	6.9
San Francisco	1	32.3
Seattle	2	28.1
St. Louis	29	1.8
Tampa	34	1.4
Washington	17	3.5
West Palm Beach	3	11.8

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The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI)
Technology, Innovation, and New Economy Project
600 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E., Suite 400, Washington DC 20003
Phone: (202) 547-0001
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