REVEALED: Leitrim ranked as one of Ireland's worst counties for small businesses

New research has revealed Leitrim is the second lowest county in Ireland for small businesses. 

The research, gathered by Baldwin Digital, analysed the latest data from the Central Statistics Office on enterprises with under 50 employees in 26 of Ireland’s counties.

Each county was ranked based on the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) per 10,000 people, the percentage of SMEs in relation to all businesses, and the percentage difference in SMEs from 2019 to 2021.

The counties were given an overall score out of 100 based on these metrics and ranked from best to worst. 

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Leitrim ranked 25th on the table scoring 26.6% whereas Westmeath took the 26th place with 23.29%.

Wicklow comes out on top as Ireland’s best county for solo enterprises, scoring 63.88. Approximately 72.4% of the county’s businesses are SMEs, the second-highest figure nationwide behind Laois (73.56%).

It also ranks 11th in the country for start-ups per 10,000 residents, with 2,026. The number has also risen by 1.5% between 2019 and 2021, the 15th-highest rate.   

Donegal takes second spot in the study with a score of 61.15. While not ranking top in any of the metrics, the county was among the top nine counties in each.

Small companies represent 68.44% of all businesses in Donegal (eighth overall), while the county is also home to the eighth-highest rate of these businesses per 10,000 people, at 2,106.   

Tipperary is the third-best county in the country for small businesses. With a score of 58.11 out of 100, Munster County was propelled towards the top of the study thanks to having the fourth-highest percentage of small companies in relation to overall businesses (69.49%).

Tipperary also ranked 19th for the percentage difference (0.36%) and 13th for solo enterprises per 10,000 residents (2,014).    

Mark Baldwin, director and founder of Baldwin Digital commented on the study: “Approximately 44.32% of businesses across Ireland have less than 50 staff members, with every county except Dublin and Westmeath having a higher percentage than the national average.  Connacht is the only province in Ireland without a county in the top 10 ranking, with Mayo ranking highest in the region, taking 12th place overall.”