Rural counties ranked in top 20 entrepreneurial hotspots by eBay; Essex County, Vermont No. 1

Essex County, Vermont, is the nation's No. 1 entrepreneurial hotspot for online businesses, according to eBay's list of top 20 hotspots, Ina Steiner reports for Ecommerce Bytes. The list, compiled in honor of Small Business Saturday, lists counties that are "home to the top per capita eBay seller activity in the U.S., based on a ranking of the top 20 U.S. counties by number of eBay small business and entrepreneur sellers and their sales measured on a per capita basis," said eBay Senior Vice President of North America Hal Lawton.

Essex County, with a population of 6,125, has an annual average ebay sales per capita of $332, states eBay. No. 2 on  the list is Fulton County, Ohio, with a population of $42,580 and an annual sales per capita of $272. Other hotspots in largely rural areas include: Casey County, Kentucky, No. 7; Whatcom County, Washington, No. 11; Nelson County, North Dakota, No. 12; Clinton County, New York, No. 18; Gwinnett County, Georgia, No. 19; and Clackamas County, Oregon, No. 20. (eBay map: Top 20 U.S. Entrepreneurial Hotspots. For an interactive version, click here.)