Orlando No. 1 In Business Climate, Dallas Is Top Millennial Magnet

Orlando took the top slot in BF’s annual Best Business Climate ranking for large cities, while Birmingham and Huntsville lead the mid-sized and small cities categories.

Orlando, FL has the Best Business Climate among large cities and Dallas tops the leaderboard of Millennial Magnets in Business Facilities’ 16th Annual Rankings Report, released this week.

“Anyone who thinks Orlando is just a tourist town is missing the big picture,” BF Editor in Chief Jack Rogers said. “Nearly 80 percent of employment in Orlando is not connected to hospitality and tourism. Orlando has been a national leader in job growth, and its higher education resources have made the city a world-class center for R&D and a thriving high-tech hub.”Orlando

Orlando took the top slot in BF’s annual Best Business Climate ranking for large cities. The magazine also is bestowing business climate crowns to mid-sized and small cities in its 2020 Metro Rankings, with two Alabama cities—Birmingham and Huntsville—topping the charts for those categories, respectively.

Dallas, TX has grabbed BF’s Millennial Magnets crown. Denver, CO and Houston, TX finished second and third in the magazine’s annual ranking of the metros that offer the lifestyle most attractive to the millennial set.

“If it surprises you that Dallas has become irresistible to millennials, you haven’t been paying attention,” Rogers said. “Before the millennium arrived, we would have said it this way: Big D is the place where you can be in with the In Crowd.”

Dallas cemented its reputation as a home to hipsters who work and play 24/7 with Uber’s selection of the Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas for its new U.S. General and Administrative Hub, which earned the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development BF’s 2019 Deal of the Year Bronze Award.

The Uber project is expected to create 3,000 direct new jobs over the next 10 years. The ride-sharing giant’s new U.S. hub resides in The Epic, a new mixed-use development on Pacific Ave. across the street from the Deep Ellum rail station in the heart of the vibrant historic area east of downtown Dallas.

Business Facilities is a national publication that has been the leading location source for corporate site selectors and economic development professionals for more than 50 years.

The complete 2020 BF Rankings Report includes state, metro and international rankings.

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