Portland Women Opening More Businesses

An article in the Portland Business Journal details findings from an American Express Open report that Portland is among the top U.S. metro areas for women-owned businesses.

Here are a handful of key findings from both sources:

• Portland is home to 69,900 women-owned businesses
• Portland ranks second nationally in the growth of women-owned businesses, with an increase of 31 percent over a 12-year period.
• The metro ranks fifth on "economic clout," which measures the growth in number, revenue, and employment in women-owned businesses in cities.
• Nationally, the fastest growth in the number of women-owned businesses occurred in educational services (+113%), administration and waste services (+58%), and health care and social assistance (+45%).
• Women of color owned roughly one in three of all women-owned firms in the U.S.

Nationwide, the number of women-owned businesses grew by 59 percent from 1997 to 2013. Oregon saw slightly slower growth, but still a sizable increase (+50%) over the period. That ranks 25th among all states and the District of Columbia.

You can find plenty of additional information in the full 68-page report.