From: http://www.bizjournals.com/

Image credit: KATHERINE WELLES

American City Business Journals this week offers an in-depth look at small businesses in America. Our coverage includes an unveiling of our exclusive Small Business Vitality report: A ranking of 106 cities nationwide based on each city’s ability to foster the creation and development of small businesses.

Ahead of Thursday’s unveiling of that ranking, we’ll take a look during the week at some of the variables that played into the 15-part Small Business Vitality formula.

Yesterday, we looked at concentration of small businesses— namely, the number of small businesses (1-99 employees) in a city expressed as a ratio per 100,000 residents of that city.

Today, we look at the percentage of private-sector jobs in cities that are generated by small businesses*.

Cities in California and Florida top this list, filling the first 5 slots and 7 of the top 10 — including No. 1: Santa Rosa, Calif.

Top 20: Where small businesses fill the highest percentage of private-sector jobs

1. Santa Rosa, Calif.: 48.7% of local private-sector jobs generated by small businesses

2. Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.: 43.8%

3. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks, Calif.: 42.6%

4. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.: 41.2%

5. Daytona Beach, Fla.: 40.6%

6. Portland, Maine: 39.7%

7. Miami: 39.5%

8. Spokane, Wash.: 39.0%

9. Ogden, Utah: 38.6%

10. Fresno, Calif.: 38.3%

11. Providence, R.I.: 37.9%

12. Palm Bay-Melbourne, Fla.: 37.8%

13. Charleston, S.C.: 37.4%

14. New York: 37.3%

15. New Orleans: 37.2%

16. Portland, Ore.: 37.1%

17. Albuquerque, N.M.: 37.0%

18. Boise, Idaho: 36.9%

19t. Oklahoma City: 36.8%

19t. Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn.: 36.8%

*2014; the most recent year for which information was available.