Thinking of launching a start-up? It's cheapest in these places
![Traditional Incandescent light bulbs are seen at an apartment in Munich August 31, 2009. "Incandescent bulbs will be phased out between September 2009 and September 2012," said a spokesman for the EU Presidency said in December 2008. European households could initially save up to 50 euros ($65) a year by switching to more efficient halogen, LED and fluorescent CFL lamps, with greater savings as costs for the more expensive but longer-lasting bulbs fall. REUTERS/Michael Dalder (GERMANY BUSINESS ENERGY ENVIRONMENT) - RTR27A61](https://assets.weforum.org/article/image/large_5gVQmzDABnFLnEKTWbZ--5ORBvqqra5JOPV7A_G85h8.jpg)
Bright ideas need affordable office space to reach their potential Image: REUTERS/Michael Dalder
![A hand holding a looking glass by a lake](/uplink.jpg)
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:
Cities and Urbanization
Costs for entrepreneurs wanting to launch a start-up are highest in London. That’s according to a new report by Knight Frank.
The UK real estate agent looked at the cost of leasing and fitting out 600 square feet (183 square metres) of office space in the tech and creative districts of the world’s leading cities. The size represents enough work space for a budding business of four employees, with a small conference room.
In London, this would cost US$66,706 per year – the highest of any creative district in the world. The second most expensive place to launch a start-up is Brooklyn, New York, at $62,736, followed by San Francisco at $61,680.
In fact, four of the top 10 most expensive cities are in the United States, with Boston in fifth place with $50,700 per 600sqft and Los Angeles in seventh with $47,124. In Europe, Paris and Dublin join London in the top 10 priciest locations, with Paris in fourth place at $57,426 and Dublin in sixth at $47,345.
The most expensive cities in Asia were Hong Kong in eighth place, where leasing 600sqft of space would cost $40,488; Beijing, in ninth, would involve an outlay of $39,090 and Singapore, in tenth, $39,088.
![Where startup costs are sky high](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/Y43CvD9Is_wouG6KiTSuzLN6XNdLfJgH6KxMvXEYqdg.png)
Start-ups are a key part of the innovation economy in areas that are struggling with slow growth. While about two thirds of small businesses don't make it past 10 years, according to US figures, those that take off can change the way we live, from Uber to AirBnB.
Start-ups tend to gravitate to areas where other start-ups already exist, along with the venture capital firms that invest in them.
![Venture capital investment](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/bgnLFCCYA6qjBXA_HSFAYFz_4dJncDv71ncdt1eNNXI.jpg)
Affordable workspace
The authors of the report warn that, unless prices stabilize or decrease, there is a risk that some of the tech hubs will stop growing:
“London needs to be more affordable for tech firms if it wants a home-grown Google or Twitter.”
Don't miss any update on this topic
Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.
License and Republishing
World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
Related topics:
The Agenda Weekly
A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.
More on BusinessSee all
Nancy McGaw
July 19, 2024
Andre Hoffmann, Nolita Thina Mvunelo and Felix Rüdiger
July 10, 2024
Don Howard and George Zuo
July 9, 2024
Julia Devos and Srivani Kanthi Chatti
June 26, 2024
Obaid Bokisha and Saeed Al Zarooni
June 25, 2024
Chun WU and Ruan Fang
June 24, 2024