Business Retention

The Business Retention indicator measures the rate of growth or decline in the number of neighborhood businesses over time, and is an important barometer for the economic strength of a neighborhood. Business retention is key to the health of the local economy. Local businesses contribute to the social fabric of a community, by augmenting social networks and increasing access to the labor market. Some studies show that promoting business retention and expansion is integral to job creation; however most job creation efforts focus heavily on business recruitment, while giving relatively less attention to the former. At the population level, prolonged business decline has been linked to negative mental health outcomes and other morbidities. The HCAT includes a measure of the number of businesses that have opened or closed on a year-to-year basis. Although found under the Economic Health domain, the Business Retention indicator can also be linked to the Employment Opportunities, Social Cohesion, and Neighborhood Characteristics domains. Data for the Business Retention indicator is available from the InfoGroup, Inc.

Neighborhoodsort ascending Indicator Value Rank
Zion City 0.0% 22
Wylam -24.6% 92
Woodlawn 3.3% 19
Woodland Park 0.0% 22
West Goldwire 50.0% 4
West End Manor -9.7% 55
West Brownville 100.0% 1
Wahouma -3.7% 35
Tuxedo -20.9% 87
Thomas -7.9% 46
Tarpley City 12.5% 13
Sun Valley -12.0% 65
Spring Lake -18.1% 81
Southside -1.4% 32
South Woodlawn -8.0% 47
South Titusville -11.3% 62
South Pratt -28.6% 97
South East Lake -11.6% 63
Smithfield Estates 24.1% 10
Smithfield -18.6% 82
Sherman Heights -4.6% 37
Sandusky -9.1% 51
Roosevelt -6.3% 41
Roebuck Springs -8.0% 47
Roebuck -7.0% 42
Rising - West Princeton -20.0% 86
Riley -10.5% 58
Redmont Park -21.6% 88
Powderly -8.7% 49
Pine Knoll Vista -50.0% 99
Penfield Park 12.5% 13
Oxmoor 13.3% 12
Overton 0.0% 22
Oakwood Place 2.0% 20
Oak Ridge Park 28.6% 8
Oak Ridge 33.3% 7
Norwood -6.0% 39
North Titusville -7.8% 45
North Pratt 11.8% 15
North East Lake 5.1% 17
North Birmingham -17.7% 80
North Avondale -7.1% 43
Mason City 36.8% 6
Maple Grove 100.0% 1
Liberty Highlands -4.7% 38
Kingston -9.4% 53
Killough Springs -11.1% 61
Jones Valley -7.3% 44
Inglenook -19.2% 84
Industrial Center 25.0% 9
Huffman -6.0% 39
Hooper City -2.8% 33
Hillman Park 0.0% 22
Hillman -25.0% 93
Highland Park -16.0% 75
Harriman Park -13.8% 72
Green Acres -25.9% 94
Graymont -21.6% 88
Grasselli Heights 11.1% 16
Glen Iris -12.2% 66
Germania Park -11.6% 63
Gate City 0.0% 22
Garden Highlands -9.5% 54
Fountain Heights 1.6% 21
Forest Park -13.4% 71
Five Points South -4.4% 36
Fairview -18.9% 83
Fairmont -23.8% 91
Evergreen -25.9% 94
Ensley Highlands 0.0% 22
Ensley -10.8% 60
Enon Ridge 0.0% 22
Echo Highlands -10.3% 57
Eastwood -14.5% 74
East Thomas -8.7% 49
East Lake -16.7% 76
East Brownville -14.3% 73
East Birmingham -27.4% 96
East Avondale -17.3% 78
Druid Hills 20.5% 11
Dolomite 45.8% 5
Crestwood South 3.8% 18
Crestwood North -9.3% 52
Crestline 0.0% 22
Collegeville -10.5% 58
College Hills -12.5% 67
Central Pratt -19.4% 85
Central Park -13.3% 70
Central City -17.2% 77
Bush Hills -12.8% 68
Brummitt Heights 0.0% 22
Brownsville Heights -40.0% 98
Brown Springs -13.0% 69
Bridlewood 0.0% 22
Belview Heights -10.0% 56
Arlington - West End -3.3% 34
Apple Valley -17.4% 79
Airport Highlands 100.0% 1
Acipco-Finley -21.7% 90

Key Citations:

  1. Cothran H. Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) Programs: Why Existing Businesses Are Important. Food and Resource Economics Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. 1 Aug. 2006. Web. 4 Feb. 2013. .
  2. Virtanen M, Mika K, MaElovainio, Pekka Virtanen, and Jussi Vahtera. “Local Economy and Sickness Absence: Prospective Cohort Study.” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 59, no. 11
  3. Takano T, Nakamura K. An analysis of health levels and various indicators of urban environments for Healthy Cities projects. Epidemiol Community Health. 2001; 55: 263-270.