May 25. Good old Cornelius has placed in the top 100  best small-sized cities in the United States to start a business, according to a personal finance web site study released in April.

Cornelius ranked 80th out of more than 1,200 U.S. cities in an economic analysis for start-ups conducted by WalletHub.com.

To determine the rankings, the study compared cities with populations of 25,000-100,000 people across three key dimensions: business environment; access to resources; and business costs.

The study also used 16 relevant, weighted metrics including the average length of the work week, office space-availability, financing availability, the population’s working age and the number of start-ups per capita to assign each city a score.

A score of 100 represented the most favorable conditions for launching a business, the study said.

Cornelius, at No. 80, received a total score of 45.27; Mooresville, ranked   32 on the list, received a total score of 46.89; Huntersville, ranked No. 126 on the list, received a score of 44.15; and Concord, ranked number 219 on the list , received a total score of 42.89.

The best small-sized city to start a business was Holland, Mi ., with a total score of 50.22.

The other top North Carolina cities ranking in the top 100 best small-sized cities including Wilson, at No. 6; New Bern, at 93; and Salisbury, 96.

“Our area is a magnet for talented business leaders who are attracted by the small town charm with easy access to
urban amenities and a world class airport,” said Ryan McDaniels, Lake Norman Economic Development executive director, a Cornelius resident.

The data for the study was collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other organizations, according to WalletHub.

Small businesses here can take advantage of the area’s accessibility to Charlotte, a diversity of housing, a high, affordable quality of life as well as a relatively low overall cost of business operations.