No. 40

Kansas City, MO-KS

The city got a boost when, in 2011, Google announced it would test Google Fiber there. Investments in startups followed, reaching $540 million in 2017, as did a 290 percent increase in access to capital from 2013 to 2016. An accelerator program hosted by Sprint and Dairy Farmers of America supports a group of startups every year, and Hallmark has given pop-up space in its stores to K.C.–based businesses. Still, the city is dominated by the health care industry, which accounts for four of its top five private-sector employers.