San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

San Francisco may dominate software, but California’s southernmost city is the place for startups focused on life sciences and aerospace. Entrepreneurs can draw talent from the UC, San Diego campus and the surrounding military bases, as well as the offices of industry majors, including pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and defense contractor Northrop Grumman. In 2012, Southern California’s largest commercial real estate company partnered with EvoNexus, a local incubator, to create startup co-working space the Vine. The larger community has flourished since; several biotech companies—Samumed, Gossamer Bio, Crinetics, ChaSerg Technology—have raised hundreds of millions of dollars or filed to go public this year. GoFundMe, the crowdfunding site, is now a household name. The city hosts 24 incubator and accelerator programs—and, after work, teams can head to one of San Diego County’s 157 breweries: It’s a craft beer mecca, too.