Entrepreneurship has always been one of rural America’s greatest strengths. From family businesses passed down through generations to innovative startups solving domestic and global challenges, rural communities have long embodied an entrepreneurial spirit to adapt, endure, and grow. Today, the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI), in partnership with the Capital One Insights Center, is proud to launch a powerful new tool designed to make that spirit visible, measurable, and actionable: the Rural Entrepreneurship Index.

The Rural Entrepreneurship Index powers a first-of-its-kind interactive map that helps communities measure the strength of their entrepreneurial ecosystem, see where momentum is building within their community, and pinpoint where targeted effort can drive the greatest impact. In doing so, it provides rural communities with a shared, evidence-based framework for understanding entrepreneurship as a pathway to resilience, wealth-building, and long-term prosperity.

“Rural America has never lacked talent, ambition, or grit,” said Matt Dunne, Founder and CEO of CORI. “What’s been missing is a way for rural communities to show what they’re already building, and to make a stronger case for the investment they deserve. The Rural Entrepreneurship Index gives rural leaders data they can use to attract capital, shape policy, and keep building what comes next in their communities.”

This tool is a practical, empowering resource built for rural leaders, founders, investors, philanthropies, policymakers, and residents who want a clearer picture of their local entrepreneurial ecosystems and offers a snapshot of each community’s position on its path to a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Rural Entrepreneurship Index brings together 11 key measures of entrepreneurial activity, from business creation and self-employment to innovation, investment, and job growth, to power a single, easy-to-use map. The result is a new way to understand how rural economies grow from the ground up and how local ingenuity translates into long-term resilience.

Learn more about the data and methodology of the index: Measuring the Pulse of Rural Entrepreneurship: Inside the Rural Entrepreneurship Index.

“Entrepreneurship isn’t one thing. It’s a pattern that shows up across business creation, self-employment, innovation, and growth,” said Amanda Weinstein, CORI’s Director of Research, Knowledge, and Evaluation. “This index brings those signals together in a way that reflects the real dynamics of rural economies and helps communities move from intuition to insight, and from insight to action.”

This work was led by CORI in partnership with and with support from the Capital One Insights Center. Their support reflects a shared belief that better data leads to better decisions, and that rural communities deserve tools designed with their realities in mind.

“Rural entrepreneurship is key to building more innovative and opportunity-rich communities,” said Shena Ashley, President of the Capital One Insights Center. “Our partnership with CORI shines a light on the importance of rural entrepreneurs and innovators with data that’s both rigorous and accessible. This work will help expand opportunity, attract investment, and support the small business owners and innovators that anchor local economies — ensuring rural communities have the tools they need to thrive.”

Importantly, the Rural Entrepreneurship Index is just the beginning. It is the first release in a broader series of entrepreneurship-focused research and resources from CORI and the Capital One Insights Center that will shine a light on what fuels rural innovation and how communities, investors, and philanthropies can work together to expand opportunity.

For rural America, this tool offers powerful evidence that entrepreneurship is already happening, talent and ambition are everywhere, and that with the right insight and investment, rural communities can shape the future of the U.S. economy.