Detroit City Wire

A State of Women-Owned Business Report finds that Michigan and Detroit rank at the top in the country for the increase in number of women-owned businesses, with the number of such establishments more than doubling in both places during the last 17 years.

Comprised from U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners data, researchers found there are now an estimated 436,486 women-owned businesses in the state, employing 254,837 residents in Michigan. Over that same time, the number of women-owned business in Detroit spiraled from 157,090 to more than 358,000.

Overall, both places rank near the top in the country for the growth of women-owned firms over the last five years, with Metro Detroit landing in the top spot in that category among metropolitan areas on the strength of an 88 percent increase.

Given all the growth, Michigan's women-owned firms contributed around $49 billion to the nation's economy, according to the report, which bases its findings on “industry, revenue and employment size at national, state and metropolitan levels to show the impact women-owned businesses have on the U.S. economy.”

Meanwhile, Detroit’s growth spurt catapulted the city into the nation’s top-spot for women-owned firms for metropolitan areas, ahead of the likes of Charlotte, North Carolina; Atlanta; Austin, Texas; and San Antonio, Texas.

In Detroit, African-American women-owned businesses grew at the fastest clip and now account for roughly half of such overall establishments, according to Geri Stengel, research adviser for the study.