TEMPE – October 30, 2026 -- Warrensburg, Missouri, and Newark, Delaware, recorded year-over-year microbusiness growth of 16.1% and 16.0%, ranking second and third in GoDaddy's inaugural Most Entrepreneurial College Towns list, behind Stanford University.
The GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab ranked eligible college-town communities by microbusiness growth over the previous calendar year. GoDaddy defines a microbusiness as a company with fewer than 10 employees. Every town in the top 10 posted double-digit growth. The list also includes Elon, North Carolina; Martin, Tennessee; and Conway, South Carolina.
Most top-ranked towns sit outside traditional startup hubs
GoDaddy says 80% of the ranked towns lie beyond traditional startup hubs. The ranking measures business growth across the geographic area around each college, not the performance of the university or its entrepreneurship programs.
GoDaddy's small business economist, Alexandra Rosen, said an entire small business economy is anchored to each school, with students, faculty and local residents building alongside one another.
Universities in the top three tie coursework to live business operations
- University of Central Missouri (Warrensburg, No. 2): Students work with community partners to plan, launch and operate a small business as part of degree requirements.
- University of Delaware (Newark, No. 3): The student-operated UDairy Creamery links coursework to product development, supply chain and storefront operations.
- Elon University (Elon, No. 4): Creativity and innovation centers incubate student-founded ventures into active local vendors.
Gen Z business creation is up 66% year over year
Gen Z leads all generations in new business creation, up 66% year over year, according to a 2026 Bank of America Small Business Owner Report. A 2026 Gen Z Entrepreneurship Survey from The Lonely Entrepreneur found that 43% of college-aged adults plan to start or run a business before graduation.
GoDaddy's ranking does not identify business owners by generation or student status. The company says it offers local leaders a starting point for discussions on supporting business owners on and off campus.
Research lab draws on 20 million online businesses
The GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab analyzes more than 20 million online businesses with a unique domain and active website. Most employ fewer than 10 people. Since 2019, the program has surveyed more than 70,000 entrepreneurs.