The Top 10 Best Cities to Start a Nutritionist Business These cities are healthy environments for a budding nutritionist business.

By Al Harris Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.

Hinterhaus Productions | Getty Images

Healthy eating is an elusive goal for many -- but nutritionists are here to help.

Nutritionists help clients lead healthy lifestyles by eating the right foods. They also specialize in helping clients manage diseases though diet.

As of 2014 there were about 66,700 nutritionists in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is expected to grow 16 percent by 2024, much faster than the average for other professions.

That got us at SpareFoot wondering: Where are the best places for nutritionists to start a business?

To answer this, we teamed up with Thumbtack.com, an online service that connects consumers with skilled professionals to get things done -- including finding a nutritionist.

Based on their marketplace data, Thumbtack recently found the top 10 markets with the highest demand for nutritionists, controlling for supply. Cities with the most demand relative to supply scored highest on the Thumbtack Opportunity Index.

Thumbtack also provided the average price per session (per customer) for nutritionists in each of those cities. To come up with our list of best cities to start a nutrition counseling business, we also wanted to consider the cost of living and the cost of real estate for your business.

To rank the top ten, we scored each city on the following metrics:

  • Price per session (Thumbtack.com)
  • Number of sessions required to pay a median month's rent
  • Number of sessions required to equal the median home price
  • Number of sessions required to equal asking price per square foot of office space.

Residential real estate data was obtained from Zillow.com and commercial data was obtained from Loopnet.com.

Here are the top ten best places for starting a nutritionist business ranked:

10. Baton Rouge, LA

The Louisiana capital might have the lowest going rate for nutritionists at an average of just under $56 per session, but there is no denying that their quite a bit of demand -- the city had a market opportunity index of 100, the highest score possible.

  • Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 100
  • Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $55.63
  • Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): $104.7
  • Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 1.88
  • Median monthly rent: $1,351
  • Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 24.29
  • Median home price: $189,000
  • Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 3,397

9. Columbus, OH

Meanwhile the capital of Ohio, manages to edge out Baton Rouge when it comes to affordability for nutritionists, thanks to a $75 dollar average cost per session.

  • Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 52.17
  • Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $75.02
  • Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): $98.99
  • Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 1.32
  • Median monthly rent: $1,351
  • Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 17.48
  • Median home price: $139,940
  • Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 1,865

8. New Orleans, LA

Back to Louisiana, the state's largest city had a high opportunity score of 69.81, and offers nutritionists more affordable rent than the previous two locations.

  • Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 69.81
  • Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $86.71
  • Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 126.21
  • Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 1.46
  • Median monthly rent: $1,1417
  • Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 16.34
  • Median home price: $238,250
  • Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 2,748

Related: Here Are the Best Cities to Run a Socially-Conscious Startup

7. Dallas, TX

Dallas has the fourth largest price per session on our list, which is good news for nutritionists. Despite higher asking prices, residential rent is more affordable than the proceeding three cities, and so is office space.

  • Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 52.5
  • Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $133.19
  • Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 145.12
  • Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 1.09
  • Median monthly rent: $1,543
  • Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 11.58
  • Median home price: $282,061
  • Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 2,116

6. Louisville, KY

Louisville has the lowest median rent on the list, but is only sixth most affordable rental market due to a lower price per job of $83.83.

  • Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 60.14
  • Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $83.83
  • Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 85.61
  • Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 1.02
  • Median monthly rent: $1,133
  • Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 13.52
  • Median home price: $130,250
  • Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 1,554

5. Houston, TX

Houston had the lowest opportunity index on the list, but that doesn't mean its not a great choice for nutritionists. The city commands the second highest price per session at $165.52 which makes office space and apartment rent the most affordable on our list so far. However, the city's sky-high housing prices are a bit less affordable for nutritionists than in most of the other cities on our list.

  • Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 51.85
  • Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $165.52
  • Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 142.54
  • Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 0.86
  • Median monthly rent: $1,576
  • Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 9.52
  • Median home price: $324,000
  • Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 1,957

Related: The 10 Best Cities For Starting a Life-Coaching Practice

4. Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh lands within the top five for all of our criteria. Nutritionists should be quite comfortable here whether they choose to rent or buy with an average cost per session of $103.76.

  • Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 62.24
  • Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $103.76
  • Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 73.68
  • Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 0.71
  • Median monthly rent: $1,142
  • Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 11.01
  • Median home price: $156,485
  • Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 1,508

3. Rochester, NY

For a small city, Rochester packs a big punch when it comes to a cost per session of $101.47. The city has the lowest home prices on our list, making it one of the most affordable for nutritionists to purchase a home -- only 837 average sessions are required to equal the cost of the median home price.

  • Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 71.82
  • Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $101.47
  • Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 70.26
  • Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 0.69
  • Median monthly rent: $1,395
  • Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 13.75
  • Median home price: $84,900
  • Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 837

2. Las Vegas, Nevada

Nutritionists in Las Vegas earn quite the premium, earning the highest price per session on our list at $255.51 on average. That also helps make Sin City the most affordable in terms of apartment rents and home prices. Good luck getting clients to steer clear of all-you-can eat buffets though.

  • Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 53.95
  • Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $255.51
  • Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft.): 167.06
  • Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 0.65
  • Median monthly rent: $1,242
  • Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 4.86
  • Median home price: $199,575
  • Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 781

Related:BIZ Experiences Magazine's Best Cities for BIZ Experiencess

1. Cincinnati, OH

Cincinnati lands within the top three for all of our criteria, making it our top city overall. It has the most affordable office space compared to the rest of the list -- one session generating enough revenue to cover two square foot of office space. The average price per job of $155.83 is nothing to scoff at either.

  • Thumbtack Opportunity Index: 72.46
  • Thumbtack Average Price Per Session: $155.83
  • Median asking price for office space (per sq. ft. ): 80.99
  • Number of sessions needed to pay for a square foot of office space: 0.52
  • Median monthly rent: $1,258
  • Sessions required to pay a month's rent: 8.07
  • Median home price: $156,175
  • Number of sessions needed to equal home price: 1,002
Al Harris

Editor at the SpareFoot Blog

Alexander Harris is a reporter covering the business of self-storage. He obtained his degree in journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University. He loves reading Elmore Leonard novels and listening to classic country music. You can call him Al.

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