Miami moved higher, making a strong showing in a global startup ecosystem ranking released this week. The metro area is also growing faster than all the US startup ecosystems in the world’s top 100, according to the report’s research.
The recently published Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025 is StartupBlink’s 8th-annual ranking of over 1,400 cities and 110 countries, produced in collaboration with more than 100 government partners. StartupBlink offers a global innovation economy research platform for public sector ecosystem developers, corporate startup programs, multilateral organizations, and researchers.
Miami ranked 28th globally in the new report, and the metro area climbed two spots from 2024. Its annual growth rate of 28.5% reflects the change in the metro area’s total score from the 2024 to the 2025 Index. This score is calculated using over 40 parameters that assess ecosystem performance, including the number of startups, total funding, unicorn count and valuation, startup exit activity, and the presence of global tech company branches and more, StartupBlink told Refresh Miami.
The report, which analyzed the ecosystems of 118 countries and 1,473 cities, shows that although the United States retains first place in the global ecosystem, its growth rate is the lowest among the top 10 counties’ entrepreneurial economies — up 18.2% compared to an average of 27.6% in the top 10. This slowdown is significant when compared to the progress of countries such as Singapore (44.9%), France (30.2%) or China (45.9%), the report said.
However, the US showed a 4X or higher lead over the UK at No. 2 and Israel at No. 3. The US continues to lead in the number of cities in the top 1,000 but that number has declined from a high of 383 in 2020 to 221 in 2025. The numbers have also slowed among the top 100: 32 US cities including Miami appear in the top 100, but it’s the lowest number in five years.
No surprise, San Francisco is the undisputed leader, although its lead over New York City has narrowed slightly. New York had more growth, 25.5% vs, 19.9% for SF. Rounding out the top 10 after SF and NYC are London, Los Angeles, Beijing, Boston, Shanghai, Paris, Tel-Aviv and Bangalore. Other US cities in the top 20 were Seattle (15th), Austin (16th) and Chicago (19th). Miami ranked 11th among US cities in this ranking.
Two other Florida cities made the global top 100: Orlando and Tampa ranked No. 94 and 95 respectively. Orlando growth rate was 8.5% and fell three places in the global ranking, while Tampa clocked in a 2% growth rate and fell 8 places, according to the report.
Recent venture data supports these findings. In 2024, startups in South Florida took in $2.77 billion in venture capital, while startups throughout the state raised $4.31 billion, according to the eMerge Americas Insights Report. Both the Miami metro area and the state rose over 2023 and ranked in the top 10 against their peers. In Q1 of 2025, Pitchbook reported that South Florida startups raised $900 million in venture capital, ranking eighth in the country by investment dollars raised and ninth by number of deals, and the metro is well on track to exceed the 2024 total.
For much more about the global picture, the 377-page StartupBlink report contains data , insights, case studies, and rankngs of the top 1,000 ecosystems. Download the report here.
“Robust startup ecosystems add an antifragile element to the economy, enabling it to withstand extreme circumstances that have become more common since 2020. Most importantly they create jobs, attract investment, curb brain drain and draw foreign entrepreneurs,” said Eli David Rokah, CEO of StartupBlink, in the report. “For those who are willing to build, now is always the right time.”
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