If you've been thinking of starting a business, you may want to headquarter it in Houston. The largest city in Texas recently topped Kiplinger's list of great cities for starting a business. Read on for five reasons Houston is the next big city for small businesses.

Business start-up costs are low. Texas has no state personal income tax, according to Kiplinger, and companies with $10 million or less in total revenue have a franchise tax rate of 0.575 percent. There's plenty of funding potential. Investors have committed over $130.8 million in venture capital to Houston businesses. The city is also home to deep-pocketed startup incubators like the Houston Tech Center, Capital Factory and Rice Alliance. Office space is inexpensive. Houston has no zoning laws, making it far simpler to secure a headquarters for your brand-new business. If you're not ready to spring for a dedicated office, Houston is also home to several coworking spaces like the Caroline Collective, City Vue and DigiCafe. The cost of living is attractive. Kiplinger's cost-of-living score for the self-employed in Houston is 91.2, which is under the national average of 100. This score uses data from the Council for Community and Economic Research. You're in good company. Houston has an average of 3.7 patents per 10,000 residents — significantly more than the national average of 1.8. Some 81,114 small businesses are already headquartered there, which means that entrepreneurs have plenty of opportunities to network at after-hours events.

As a bonus, here are the PayScale pay trends for the Houston metropolitan area: