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Economic outlook puts Buffalo ahead of New York, Chicago

Posted at 12:32 PM, Oct 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-17 12:32:53-04

Buffalo ranks among the top 50 cities in the U.S. where businesses have the best chance of success, according to an economic outlook from the online crowd-sourcing review site Yelp.

The Queen City ranks 34th on Yelp's list of 'Top 50 Cities in America for Economic Opportunity,'  which was compiled using local business data and several years of online reviews from Yelp visitors. Charlotte took the top spot, followed by Jacksonville and Omaha. Among other cities in New York state, Rochester ranked 42nd, two spots ahead of New York City.

The outlook produced a separate, more specific list in which Buffalo also performed well. Yelp's 'Top 50 Most Improved Neighborhoods in American for Economic Opportunity' ranks North Buffalo the 10th best neighborhood to start a small business. The Elmwood Village came in at number 45. San Francisco's Stonestown neighborhood ranked number one.

The Yelp outlook follows a Harvard University study published last month that found Yelp can help measure local economic activity faster and on a more granular level than government data. It did not factor in such criteria as taxes, salary and the availability of workers.

The complete lists can be found here.