Report: Austin No. 2 in nation in percentage of women-owned startups

Austin ranks No. 2 in the nation for the highest percentage of women-owned startups, according to a new analysis of nationwide data.

The study by Seek Business Capital, which provides consulting services and loans to small businesses, found that 32.7 percent of startups in Austin -- 1,433 startups -- are owned by women.

Austin trailed only the St. Louis Missouri-Illinois metro area, which has 2,726 female-owned startups. Roughly 45 percent of startups in the area are women owned.

In Austin, gross sales or receipts of female-owned startups fell between $500 million and $1 billion. Real estate, rental and leasing were the most active industries for female entrepreneurs in Austin, the report found.

The Houston metro area was the only other in Texas to make the list, ranking No. 17 out of 20 cities. The Houston metro area has 2,783 female-owned startups, according to the analysis.

Seek Business Capital researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Survey of Entrepreneurs to determine which U.S. cities have the most female entrepreneurs. The group defined "startup" as any company that is less than two years old and "business ownership" as having 51 percent or more of the stock or equity in the business.

Nationally, the highest percentage of women-owned startups are in health care and educational services, the group found. Agriculture and construction have the lowest percentage, according to the analysis.

Although the number of female-owned startups has improved nationwide, women still comprise a smaller percentage of entrepreneurs and start fewer business. Roughly 24 percent of startups in their first two years are owned by women, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2016 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs.

The 2016 data, which was released in August and is the most recent available, found that women-owned employers in firms across the U.S. increased by 2.8 percent from 2015. The number grew from 1,088,466 in 2015 to 1,118,863 in 2016.

An American-Statesman analysis in August of Austin's overall tech workforce found that significant changes to improve diversity remain slow within the industry. The analysis, which reviewed the latest data from Austin's largest tech companies, found that there has not been significant change in workforce diversity numbers since 2015.

READ MORE: Tech firms said they wanted to improve diversity. Have they?

The report analyzed companies' global workforces and found that Expedia, which owns Austin-based HomeAway, continued to have the only majority female workforce at 52 percent. The rest of the companies remained at roughly 65 percent to 70 percent male.