Donegal ranks second best county to run a small business

DONEGAL has ranked second best county in the country to operate a small business, according to a new study.

Experts from Baldwin Digital analysed the latest data from the Central Statistics Office on enterprises with under 50 employees in 26 of Ireland’s counties. The six counties of Northern Ireland were not included in the study.
Each county was ranked based on the number of SMEs per 10,000 people, the percentage of SMEs in relation to all businesses, and the percentage difference in SMEs from 2019 to 2021. The counties were given an overall score out of 100 based on these metrics and ranked from best to worst.

Wicklow comes out on top as Ireland’s best county for solo enterprises, scoring 63.88. Approximately 72.4 per cent of the county’s businesses are SMEs, the second-highest figure nationwide behind Laois (73.56 per cent).

It also ranks 11th in the country for start-ups per 10,000 residents, with 2,026. The number has also risen by 1.5 per cent between 2019 and 2021, the 15th-highest rate.

Donegal takes second spot in the study with a score of 61.15. While not ranking top in any of the metrics, the county was among the top nine counties in each. Small companies represent 68.44 per cent of all businesses in Donegal (eighth overall), while the county is also home to the eighth-highest rate of these businesses per 10,000 people, at 2,106.

Tipperary is the third-best county in the country for small businesses. With a score of 58.11 out of 100, the Munster County was propelled towards the top of the study thanks to having the fourth-highest percentage of small companies in relation to overall businesses (69.49 per cent).

Tipperary also ranked 19th for the percentage difference (0.36 per cent) and 13th for solo enterprises per 10,000 residents (2,014).

Carlow is Ireland’s fourth-best spot for start-ups, scoring 56.98. There are 2,142 SMEs for every 10,000 people in the county, the fifth-highest figure nationwide. The number also increased at the eighth highest rate, by 2.77 per cent.

Cavan rounds out the five best counties to run a small business with a score of 56.89. They comprise 68.47 per cent of all companies in the county, the seventh-highest figure in Ireland. Meanwhile, the number of boutique businesses in Cavan rose at the nation’s 12th-fastest rate, by 1.96 per cent, from 16,190 businesses to 16,507.

Wexford ranks sixth among Ireland’s best counties for small enterprises. Securing a score of 56.48, Wexford was in the top 50 per cent of counties in every category. The county has the ninth-best rate of start-ups per 10,000 people (2,065) and the joint ninth-fastest growth (2.48 per cent).

Kerry is one of two Munster counties to rank among the 10 best spots, scoring 56.34 out of 100. The county has the third-highest rate of start-ups per 10,000 residents, at 2,224, only behind Dublin and Monaghan. However, Kerry was pulled down in the study due to a fall in small firms from 2019 to 2021, dropping by 0.72 per cent.

Monaghan takes eighth in the study with an overall index score of 55.01. The Ulster County is the second-best spot in Ireland for start-ups per 10,000 residents (2,295), with only Dublin having more (2,522). Monaghan also saw a slight uptick in solo enterprises, rising by 1.54 per cent, the 14th-highest increase nationwide.

Meath places ninth overall with a score of 54.67. The county has enjoyed the third-fastest rise in small companies, rising by 5.53 per cent between 2019 and 2021, while they also represent 67.66 per cent of businesses (ninth overall).

Meath was dragged down in the study by the average number of small enterprises per 10,000 locals, which sits at 18th nationally with 1,857.

Louth is the final county to be named in the top 10 counties for SMEs.

Its ranking was secured thanks to having the fourth-highest rate of small businesses per 10,000 people, with 2,144. While the county ranked high for the percentage of start-ups (12th overall), it was dragged down by the third-fastest drop, with 1.12 per cent fewer small businesses operating in Louth in 2021 compared with 2019.

Despite ranking top for SMEs per 10,000 residents, Dublin missed out on the top 10, coming in 11th place overall. While the number of boutique businesses rose by 3.1 per cent (the sixth-highest nationwide), the county had the second-lowest percentage of small firms (34.46 per cent).

Mark Baldwin, director and founder of Baldwin Digital said: “Approximately 44.32 per cent of businesses across Ireland have less than 50 staff members, with every county except Dublin and Westmeath having a higher percentage than the national average.

“Connacht is the only province in Ireland without a county in the top 10 ranking, with Mayo ranking highest in the region, taking 12th place overall.”

Wicklow is the best county in Ireland for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a new study has found.

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