No. 46

Hartford-West HartfordEast Hartford, CT

Despite years of state budgetary woes, the Hartford area is on an upswing—thanks, in part, to a rebound in manufacturing. Aerospace company Pratt & Whitney can’t keep up with jet engine orders, and Otis Elevator does over $12.3 billion in net sales. Pioneering accelerator ReSet, which has a social impact focus, has graduated 100 area companies over the past five years. Toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker recently launched a manufacturing accelerator with Techstars. And Hartford—the “insurance capital of the world”—was named one of the state’s four Innovations Places, making it eligible for $2 million in matching funds, part of which it’s putting toward an accelerator aimed at insurance startups.