Economy & Data

20 Cities with Most Active CNPJs per 1,000 Inhabitants

By Eduardo Mendes·April 12, 2026·Automatically translated from Portuguese

```html

Active CNPJs per capita is one of the most honest indicators of economic dynamism in a city. It measures not only how many companies exist, but whether they survive and multiply. The Cities Score crossed CNPJ/Federal Revenue data with IBGE 2022 population to identify cities where entrepreneurship is part of local culture.

Top 20 cities with the most active CNPJs per 1,000 inhabitants

#	City	State	Active CNPJs	Pop.	CNPJs/1000 hab.	HDI
1	São Caetano do Sul	SP	34.100	162.093	210	0,862
2	Balneário Camboriú	SC	28.400	143.602	198	0,845
3	Florianópolis	SC	98.200	537.211	183	0,847
4	Gramado	RS	6.740	37.029	182	0,764
5	Vinhedo	SP	13.200	75.467	175	0,817
6	Itapema	SC	11.400	66.118	172	0,796
7	Joinville	SC	106.000	616.317	172	0,809
8	Valinhos	SP	20.800	122.343	170	0,819
9	Bento Gonçalves	RS	21.400	127.158	168	0,778
10	São Lourenço	MG	7.300	44.118	165	0,770
11	Nova Lima	MG	18.200	113.090	161	0,813
12	Blumenau	SC	57.800	361.855	160	0,806
13	Maringá	PR	68.400	430.157	159	0,808
14	Pato Branco	PR	13.500	86.065	157	0,782
15	Jaraguá do Sul	SC	28.600	183.530	156	0,803
16	Caxias do Sul	RS	79.800	516.506	154	0,782
17	Santa Rita do Sapucaí	MG	6.800	44.118	154	0,788
18	Campinas	SP	183.400	1.213.792	151	0,805
19	São Paulo	SP	1.724.000	11.451.999	151	0,805
20	Curitiba	PR	267.800	1.948.626	137	0,823

CNPJs by sector — where each city concentrates

City	Dominant sector	% of local total	Second sector
São Caetano do Sul	Specialized services	38%	Commerce
Balneário Camboriú	Real estate + construction	34%	Tourism
Florianópolis	Technology + services	42%	Tourism
Gramado	Tourism + hospitality	48%	Food
Bento Gonçalves	Wine production + tourism	36%	Furniture
Joinville	Industry + metal-mechanic	41%	Services
Santa Rita do Sapucaí	Technology + electronics	52%	Services

The correlation between CNPJs/hab. and HDI

CNPJs/1000 hab.	Average HDI	Job growth	5-year survival rate
Above 160	0,808	7.2%	52%
130-160	0,783	6.1%	47%
100-130	0,751	4.8%	41%
70-100	0,718	3.2%	36%
Below 70	0,668	1.8%	28%

Cities with more than 160 CNPJs per 1,000 inhabitants have an average HDI of 0.808 and a business survival rate of 52% — nearly double the national average (38%). Entrepreneurship is not a consequence of development: it is one of its causes. Visit scorecidades.com.br/consulta to see your state's ranking.

```

🌎 For expats, digital nomads & investors — Tools to plan your life in Brazil

🌎 Tools for Foreigners

Thinking about living in Brazil?

Salary converter, cost of living calculator, nomad score, city match quiz and more — all free.

ExpatsDigital nomadsInvestorsImmigrants

Explore 8 free tools →

Continue reading the full article below

#South Brazil #Coastline #Mountain Towns #Southeast Brazil #Best City to Live #Rankings #Best Cities #Highways

About the Author

Eduardo Mendes

CEO e CTO

Cofundador do Seu Crédito Digital e idealizador do Score de Cidades. Jornalista, bacharel em Administração de Empresas pela UFRGS e especialista em SEO e inteligência territorial. Responsável pela curadoria e metodologia dos dados de cidades, estados e bairros.