Gen Z turns to entrepreneurship as college towns see microbusiness growth
New GoDaddy data shows microbusiness activity rising across college communities, with Stanford, Calif., leading and several smaller university towns emerging as strong entrepreneurial hubs as young people look beyond uncertain job prospects.
Young Americans facing an uncertain job market are increasingly starting their own businesses, and new data shows that activity is climbing fastest in college communities. Exclusive figures shared with Fortune by GoDaddy show microbusiness growth across university towns nationwide, with several smaller college communities standing out as entrepreneurial hubs.
Stanford, Calif., home to Stanford University, ranked first with 20.2% growth in microbusiness activity between July 2025 and June 2026. Smaller towns followed closely. Warrensburg, Mo., home to the University of Central Missouri, recorded 16.1% growth, and Newark, Del., home to the University of Delaware, posted 16%. Elon, N.C., and Cortland, N.Y., rounded out the top five with growth of 15.5% and 14.6%, respectively.
Alexandra Rosen, an economist and head of GoDaddy's Small Business Research Lab, said the diversity of the top-ranked communities stood out to her. « What surprised me is the diversity of schools and towns that made the top 10, » Rosen told Fortune. « They range from the more high-tech hubs, with Stanford coming in first place, but also with rural areas like two SUNY schools being in the top 10, showing that entrepreneurship really is growing everywhere. »
The study identified college towns by combining GoDaddy's city-level microbusiness data with U.S. Census and federal education data. To qualify, a community needed a population of at least 10,000, a college or university with at least 5,000 students, and at least 20% of its residents enrolled in college or graduate school. The data is not limited to students or recent graduates. A microbusiness could belong to a professor publishing a book, a local resident opening a coffee shop, or a student testing a business idea.
The shift comes as graduates question the value of their degrees. Underemployment, unemployment and an unsettled job market have left many recent graduates looking for alternatives rather than waiting for the right opening. At the same time, AI is reshaping entry-level work and raising questions about which opportunities will remain available to young employees.
AI is also lowering the cost of starting a business. Tools now help aspiring founders write business plans, build websites, test ideas and launch ventures without the resources such efforts once required. Rosen said entrepreneurship gives young people a way to « take the reins or to bet on yourself » rather than wait for an employer to offer one.
Universities have also made entrepreneurship feel less intimidating. According to business school accreditor AACSB, the number of undergraduate entrepreneurship programs rose by nearly 25% between 2017–18 and 2019–20. « It is inviting more students to feel it more accessible and less scary, and as a more likely outcome or potential path forward, » Rosen said. « It feels less risky because it's more familiar. Everybody knows somebody that has a small business now. »
College towns have a long record of producing major companies. Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, now Meta, while attending Harvard University, and Michael Dell founded what would become Dell Technologies from his dorm room at the University of Texas at Austin.
Prominent business leaders are also encouraging young people to consider starting companies. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called it « absolutely the single greatest time to start a company » during a conversation earlier this year with Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, speaking to Stanford students earlier this month, argued that people entering the workforce during rapid change can benefit when the playing field is most open.
Not every high-profile leader sees the same path. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has cautioned against treating well-known college dropouts as blueprints for success, saying it is possible to drop out of college and become a great entrepreneur but that such outcomes should not be assumed or romanticized. The GoDaddy figures suggest that, for now, many young people are testing that path in their own communities.
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