Noesion Radarnoesion.ai
Research2026-08-27

Stripe's economics team published an analysis of where new US businesses are being created, finding that formation since 2024 has spread further from large cities and, within large metros, further from city centres. Companies working closest to AI development itself remain heavily concentrated, with most AI labs in San Francisco. The authors caution that the effects of remote work and of AI cannot be cleanly separated.

What changed

In 2022 business formation per person in Cheyenne, Wyoming matched New York City's.

  • ~40% of new businesses in metros under 1M
  • ~80% of AI labs in San Francisco
  • 50% of AI product firms in top 10 metros
  • Houston outer suburbs 37%, up 4 points

Sources

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