Grand Rapids, Lakeshore rank in top 10 metro areas for fast-growth companies

A study showing that West Michigan’s fastest growing companies span all industries and employment ranges contradicts conventional thought that Michigan’s future lies in targeted industries or in pulling in new, untested entrepreneurs.

According to excerpts from the story:

The Grand Rapids-Lakeshore area ranks among the top 10 metro areas in the country for fast-growing companies, a new study shows.

Yet Michigan as a whole ranks 44th among the states for its proportion of such employers, in the report issued by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Of the 376,604 “high-impact” companies identified by researchers nationwide, 11,006 are in Michigan. That’s 2.07 percent of Michigan’s firms, putting it far behind No. 1 Alaska with 2.76 percent.

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