Glendale, Scottsdale among top US cities for booming main streets as retail, hospitality surge

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on August 25, 2026

Two Valley cities are in the top 10 for small business growth, with one of those singled out as one of the best for job growth, according to a new analysis.

A report from human resources technology platform Blink ranked Glendale and Scottsdale at Nos. 8 and 9, respectively, among U.S. cities “with the most booming main streets” — a description generally meant to capture cities’ downtowns and similar local business hubs in terms of both economic activity and local engagement.

The study’s authors said they focused on retail and food/hospitality business density, small business births, and workforce growth, alongside search volume, population growth and walkability in the nation’s 200 most populous mid-sized cities (those with populations lower than 500,000).

Data came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 County Business Patterns as well as the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Workforce Indicators. Workforce growth compared the first quarter of 2019 with Q1 2025. Some of the Census data used is metro-level.

Glendale earned its spot on the basis of robust growth in population and in employment, while a separate component of Blink’s report ranked Glendale at No. 3 for job growth. The report said Glendale has an average employment growth rate of 11.45%, with retail employment rising by 7.6% and hospitality and dining employment going up by 15.3% — reflecting demand increases from both residents and visitors.

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