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DENVER (KDVR) — The Centennial State is among the best in the nation for female entrepreneurs, part of a broader economic trend in which Colorado’s business climate performs well in women’s opportunities.

Small business lender OnDeck crunched U.S. Census business owner data and found Colorado, and particularly the Denver metro area, has some of the nation’s highest concentrations of female-owned businesses.

Colorado cities already score highly for women’s professional outcomes. The Boulder and Denver metro areas have some of the nation’s highest payscales for women who work full time.

In the 50 largest statistical metro areas, the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metro ranks second in the nation, with 24.8% of its businesses founded by females.

The Denver area only has a shade smaller share of women-founded businesses than St. Louis, which claims the highest percentage in the U.S. with 24.84%. The Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Miami metro areas round out the five metros with the highest shares, while the Indianapolis, Columbus and Philadelphia areas have the lowest.

Statewide, Colorado also has the nation’s second-highest percentage of women-founded businesses, with 23.84%. Only Alaska has a higher share with nearly one in five (24.71%) businesses founded by women.

West Virginia, meanwhile, has the lowest, with 15.18%, followed by South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah and Idaho.