For the second year in a row, The City of Sturgis has been identified as a top-performing community at fostering entrepreneurial growth and economic development in a study by researchers at the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Center for Innovation Research (iLabs). The City of Sturgis was honored as a Five-Star Community in 2011 along with 20 other five-star and 23 other four-star communities across the State.

“For several years we have focused on enhancing our entrepreneurial support services to help business be profitable and grow,” said City Manager Mike Hughes. “Last year we were a four-star community and our move up in the rankings encourages us to continue focusing on new and growing companies and to invest our resources in this area.”

The annual eCities research project, which began in 2007, uses data supplied by the participants as well as other public records to assemble a six-factor, 32-item index of entrepreneurial activity, looking at such factors as clustering, incentives, growth, policies, community and education. The study focuses on entrepreneurship because of its importance to expansion and diversification of Michigan's regional economies and the impact small businesses have on job creation.