Kings of the Mountain: Top Metros and Cities by Inc. 5000 Firms

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New York is still No. 1, but the fastest-growing top 10 metro by number of fast-growing firms is Dallas-Fort Worth (pictured), which has added 18 Inc. 5000 companies since last year.

Photo by adamkaz: Getty Images

Two weeks ago in this space we analyzed the top states by number of Inc. 5000 companies, both cumulatively (where California is No. 1) and per capita (led by Virginia). This week we examine top metro regions and top cities.

The Big Apple has 20 fewer Inc. 5000 companies this year than last year but remains the No. 1 metro by number of Inc. 5000 firms even as numbers surge in the nation’s capital and two Texas metros. The multi-state D.C. metro area saw its number rise by 15 firms over its 2024 total of 287. The Dallas-Ft. Worth tally grew by 18 firms. And metro Austin’s roster expanded by 13 fast-growing companies, bumping the Texas capital region into the top 10 overall.

Metro New York boasts seven Inc. 5000 companies in the top 100, led by No. 4 Upward Health, a home-based medical care firm based in Hauppauge on Long Island that grew business by 24,256% over three years and has been in the national top 10 three years in a row.

“For three years running,” said Upward Health CEO Glen Moller, “we’ve ranked among the nation’s fastest-growing companies because we’re successfully caring for complex, vulnerable patients in their homes while generating meaningful cost savings for our partners. Our success is rooted in our mission to ensure all individuals have access to high-quality health care, and that mission has never been more urgent. We’ve created hundreds of local jobs and expanded access to care in communities that need it most. As we continue to grow, we remain focused on scaling our model, reaching more patients and driving meaningful change in how care is delivered.”

Wealth management firm Farther, based in New York City, was no. 8 in the nation. In July the company reported it had surpassed $13 billion in recruited assets. No. 21 in the nation is Oula, a maternity care company based in Brooklyn with three-year growth of 8,176%.

“We are parents, clinicians, and public health experts who see the gaps in the typical approach to maternity care,” said Adrianne Nickerson, co-founder and CEO of Oula. “We set out to build a better maternity care experience, one rooted in research, comprehensive care and compassion, and we are doing that. We are delivering significantly better care and outcomes. This recognition of our success from a business perspective confirms that we are delivering the type of care women are demanding and the growing interest in midwifery.

The achievement comes as Oula prepares to expand beyond New York with the opening of Oula provided by Stamford Health in Norwalk, Connecticut, the company said in a release. “This will be Stamford Health’s first-ever midwifery offering. Since opening in 2021, Oula has delivered 2,200+ babies and exceeded New York City maternity benchmarks, across race and payer type.”

Among the highest-ranking companies in surging DFW is No. 94 RUGG Construction, a general contractor based in Dallas led by the husband-and-wife team of Andrew and Jessica Rugg, both graduates of Southern Methodist University. 

Wild West?
On a per-capita basis (minimum of three firms), this year’s leaders look much like last year’s, with the regions in bold below showing the most year-over-year growth in Inc. 5000 firms. Boulder, Colorado; Marion-Herrin, Illinois; and Cheyenne, Wyoming, arrive in the top 10, displacing Bozeman, Montana; Greater Charleston, South Carolina; and Sevierville, Tennessee.

Top Metros Per Capita by No. of Inc. 5000 Firms Per 1M Population*

*minimum of 3 firms

Two Wyoming metro areas make the list, topped by Sheridan once again with four Inc. 5000 companies. The fastest-growing of the eight firms in the two cities, however, is Wuffes, a pet joint supplement company based in Cheyenne that is ranked No. 400 and had three-year revenue growth of 1,002%. Yes, it’s pronounced “woofs,” but don’t confuse the company with Woof Pet, the Denver-based firm whose 25,621% growth catapulted it to No. 3 in the Inc. 5000 rankings.

No. 1 Sheridan’s top-ranking firm is No. 869 Joy Technologies, a digital brand-building company with more than 100 employees, more than 250 clients and other offices in India and the Philippines. The firm’s four brands optimize such things as B2B lead generation, paid ad campaigns, content marketing and what the firm calls white hat link building, “designed to take your brand’s search ranking and sales to new heights through organic backlinks.”

Per-capita top 10 newcomer Boulder’s highest ranked company is No. 242 The Ambitious Exec. If that sounds redundant (aren’t all executives ambitious by nature?), the firm describes itself as an “exclusive career development accelerator for Directors, VPs and C-Suite Executives that will help you land your next $150k – $1.5m role without relying on your existing network, on job boards or waiting around for recruiters.” The company’s approach is laid out in CEO James Whittaker’s book “The Reverse Job Search Method,” which describes how to access the “hidden” job market of remunerative executive positions that don’t get advertised.

City Totals
Broken down at the municipal level, our math points to these top 10 cities, only two of which (San Diego and Houston) are not represented in the top 10 metros list above.

Top Cities by No. of 2025 Inc. 5000 Firms

Like last year, city-level analysis also highlights outsized performances by some bright lights in major metro areas’ suburban and satellite communities. Once again this year, the number of Inc. 5000 firms in No. 13-ranked Scottsdale, Arizona (41) is greater than the number in Phoenix proper (39), also beating out Denver, Nashville and Las Vegas in the process. Listed below are others that may merit a closer look to see what makes these non-core communities into business centers in their own right. — Adam Bruns