The short answer
Outside the Bay Area, New York and Boston, the metros with the most startup investors in our database are Los Angeles (1,553), Chicago (1,132), Miami (768), Seattle (653).
- Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Seattle lead outside the big three in our data.
- Every tracked metro has angels and pre-seed investors.
- Density is a starting point; fit matters more.
- Pair local checks with sector specialists elsewhere.
The headline
Outside the Bay Area, New York and Boston, the metros with the most startup investors in our database are Los Angeles (1,553), Chicago (1,132), Miami (768), Seattle (653), Austin (585). Each has hundreds of investors, including angels and family offices who write early checks.
Startup investors by metro, outside SF, NYC and Boston
All US metros we track
| # | Metro | Startup investors | Angels | Pre-seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SF Bay Area | 8,041 | 1,605 | 2,716 |
| 2 | New York City | 5,994 | 744 | 1,515 |
| 3 | Boston | 1,806 | 209 | 375 |
| 4 | Los Angeles | 1,553 | 337 | 509 |
| 5 | Chicago | 1,132 | 169 | 254 |
| 6 | Miami | 768 | 172 | 212 |
| 7 | Seattle | 653 | 226 | 212 |
| 8 | Austin | 585 | 145 | 211 |
| 9 | Dallas | 540 | 84 | 74 |
| 10 | Washington DC | 524 | 123 | 141 |
| 11 | Denver/Boulder | 462 | 131 | 147 |
| 12 | Atlanta | 431 | 91 | 84 |
| 13 | Houston | 411 | 62 | 69 |
| 14 | San Diego | 322 | 85 | 99 |
| 15 | Philadelphia | 272 | 71 | 72 |
| 16 | Nashville | 206 | 45 | 51 |
| 17 | Charlotte | 194 | 52 | 51 |
| 18 | Salt Lake City | 187 | 73 | 73 |
| 19 | Greenwich/Stamford | 184 | 22 | 15 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh | 104 | 22 | 22 |
| 21 | Minneapolis | 86 | 15 | 24 |
| 22 | Detroit | 72 | 22 | 21 |
What it means for founders
- Investor density is a starting point, not a verdict: a metro with 300 active, relevant investors beats one with 3,000 who never write your check.
- Angels are a meaningful share almost everywhere: in Los Angeles, 337 of 1,553 startup investors in our data are angels or syndicates.
- Use metro pages to find who is active locally, then add out-of-state funds that back your sector.
Method
Metro is assigned from each record's listed city. Counts are startup-investor records in our database (angels, venture firms and partners, micro-VCs, family offices, corporate VCs, accelerators). Counts under 10 are suppressed.
Frequently asked questions
Which US cities have the most startup investors outside Silicon Valley?
In our data, outside the Bay Area, New York and Boston: Los Angeles (1,553), Chicago (1,132), Miami (768), Seattle (653), Austin (585).
Is it harder to raise outside a big hub?
It can take more deliberate work, but every metro we track has hundreds of startup investors or more. Starting local and sequencing checks well closes most of the gap.
How are metros defined?
We assign a metro from each investor record's listed city, grouping nearby cities into one area (for example Denver and Boulder).