By Business Facilities Staff
From the July / August 2024 Issue
The Business Facilities 2024 Metro Rankings include more than 30 categories focused on factors important to corporate relocation and expansion decisions. Now in its 20th year, these rankings are designed to provide quick insight for site selection projects across North America and beyond. The rankings look at recent activity and performance, as well as considering future opportunities emerging in these states and provinces.
In Business Facilities’ 20th Annual Rankings Report, metro areas and cities of all sizes are recognized for attracting and retaining businesses. From Best Business Climate to Fastest Growing Cities and from Tech Talent Leaders to Food Processing, the rankings showcase the variety of location choices for site selection projects across all types of business.
Cities are the economic engines behind the growth of states and regions. As part of the Annual Rankings Report, Business Facilities recognizes the activity and accomplishments occurring at the local level with the Metro Rankings each year.
Hot Spots For Corporate HQ
Whether choosing to relocate or expanding at a current location, the decision on where to site a corporate headquarters is central to business operations. The Corporate Headquarters ranking takes into account the number of headquarters there are located in a city or metro area, and it also looks at what type of resources a location offers to the central operations of a business.
From access to assistance and cost of business to quality of life, this decision is a crucial one for companies. The 10 locations ranked here this year represent a wide swath across the U.S, and each has their own advantages and appeal.
The metro rising the No. 1 spot this year is Austin/Round Rock, TX. The city attracted 66 company headquarters between 2018 and 2023.
The Top 5 ranked also include: San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, CA; New York City/Jersey City, NJ/White Plains, NY; Dallas/Fort Worth, TX; and Houston/The Woodlands/Sugar Land, TX.
Rounding out the Corporate Headquarters ranking are: Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Alpharetta, GA; Chicago/Naperville/Evanston, IL; Minneapolis/St. Paul/Bloomington, MN; Nashville/Davidson/Murfreesboro, TN; and Denver/Aurora/Lakewood, CO.
Best Business Climate
A desirable business climate may vary for businesses by industry, size, or a distinct requirement, but commonalities such as cost of doing business and access to resources are standard to virtually all companies. The Best Business Climate rankings found here look at large, mid-sized, and small cities.
The Milken Institute, a nonprofit, non-partisan think tank, published its 2024 Best-Performing Cities (BPC) Index, which includes a number of business climate factors in its analysis. Based primarily on data from 2022, this report is tool to help in evaluating locations.
Business Facilities’ ranking for Best Business Climate considered the Milken report, in addition to job growth/labor availability and tax rates in cities. The No. 1 metro is Austin/Round Rock, TX. This metro also clinched the No. 1 spot for Corporate Headquarters this year.
Also ranked in the Top 10: Salt Lake City, UT; Nashville/Davidson/Murfreesboro/Franklin, TN; Provo/Orem, UT; Dallas/Plano/Irving, TX; Fayetteville/Springdale/Rogers, AR; Lexington, KY; and Charlotte/Concord/Gastonia, NC-SC.
Leading the mid-sized metros with Best Business Climate: Arlington, VA; Fort Lauderdale, FL; and Grand Rapids, MI. Also ranked in the top 10: Henderson, NV; Lubbock, TX; Madison, WI; Cincinnati, OH; Rochester, NY; Des Moines, IA; and Olympia/Tumwater, WA.
Leading the small metros for Best Business Climate are: Idaho Falls, ID; Coeur d’Alene, ID; and Gainesville, GA. Rounding out the list: St. George, UT; Twin Falls, ID; Bend-Redmond, OR; Pocatello, ID; Wenatchee, WA; Jacksonville, NC; and The Villages, FL.
Industrial Parks
This year’s Business Facilities’ Industrial Parks ranking focused on size in terms of acreage, then honed in on locations that excel in strategic location, transportation and infrastructure, and amenities. Ranging from 100,000+ acres to close to 2,000, the top ranked parks this year showcase the breadth of options for companies of all sizes. As decision-makers seek leading logistics, flexible space, and amenities there are a growing number of properties with a variety of choices for companies.
Ranked 1st this year in the Industrial Park category is Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRI Center), a privately owned 107,000-acre industrial park, located in Storey County, east of Reno, NV. The center is the largest by land mass in the U.S. More than 100 companies have sited warehouse logistics centers and fulfillment centers there (including PetSmart, Home Depot, and Wal-mart. Also, this is the site of Gigafactory Nevada, built for Tesla and Panasonic operations.
Ranked No. 1 for several years in this ranking, Elk Grove Village Business Park located in Elk Grove Village, IL moved to No. 8—due to acreage being primary criteria this year.
It’s important to highlight that the Elk Grove Village Business Park is the largest in the U.S.—in terms of square footage (62 million). There are more than 5,600 businesses, 22 data centers, and over 400 manufacturers operating at this site. As of 2022, Elk Grove Village’s current industrial occupancy rate stood at 98%
Elk Grove Village is also centered around Chicago’s well-equipped transportation infrastructure. And, the Park expanded its offerings in 2018 to include the Elk Grove Technology Park Elk Grove Village is where great makers come together to make great things. Elk Grove.
Taking the No. 2 spot is AllianceTexas, in Fort Worth, TX. The 27,000-acre AllianceTexas site serves as a world-class intermodal logistics hub, transporting goods by rail, air, and major highways like I-35W from Mexico to Canada. The master-planned mixed-use community is currently home to 574 companies. Within AllianceTexas, the Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport is ranked as #19 in the U.S. for cargo operations, moving 2.5 billion pounds of cargo during 2023. The airport also serves as a regional air hub for Amazon, FedEx, and UPS Ground.
When it comes to rail, the AllianceTexas corridor contains two Class I rail lines through Fort Worth-based BNSF and Union Pacific, with BNSF Railway’s intermodal facility performing over one million lifts per year.
Finally, the AllianceTexas corridor in Fort Worth is home to the Mobility Innovation Zone (MIZ), which offers an ecosystem to support the advancement of logistics and mobility technologies. Companies have access to complex airspace to test and commercialize their supply chain solutions, which has made the MIZ an effective site for drone delivery testing by Wing, as well as robotic trucking by middle-mile leader Gatik, and unmanned robotic couriers by Clevon.
Rounding out the top three Industrial Parks in the rankings is TexAmericas Center in Bowie County, TX. Located along the Interstate 30 corridor, just 15 miles west of Texarkana, the 12,000-acre mixed-use industrial park services the Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas markets.
Texarkana’s central location and interconnection of rail, road, air, river, and IT transportation assets enables TexAmericas Center to leverage its ability to deliver high-quality, value-added logistics services at a low cost against this comprehensive transportation network.
In mid-2023, TexAmericas Center launched its Qualified Sites Program (QSP), preparing shovel-ready sites for businesses. To date, more than 650 sites have been qualified by QSP—with just over 100 certified by a third-party certification process.
Rounding out the Top 10 industrial parks across the U.S. are: TGS Cedar Port Industrial Park (Baytown, TX); MidAmerica Industrial Park (Pryor, OK); Camp Hall Commerce Park (Charleston, SC); CenterPoint Intermodal Center (Joliet/Elwood, IL); Elk Grove Business Park (Elk Grove Village, IL); Quonset Business Park (North Kingston, RI); and Savannah River International Trade Park & NorthPort Industrial Park (Savannah, GA).
Logistics Leaders
For places to move goods, Memphis, TN shows a repeat performance as the top ranked metro in the magazine’s Logistics Leaders ranking. This ranking considers all forms of transportation logistics, including shipping by air, rail, water, and highway. And it is based on existing infrastructure, cross referenced with growth outlook and planned improvements.
Memphis International Airport, home to the global FedEx hub, is the busiest cargo airport in the U.S. for 2023, according to the Airports Council International’s annual tally. Memphis is one of only four U.S. cities to be served by five Class I railroads, and it is home to the fifth largest inland port in the U.S.
New Orleans, a perennial top ranked location in Logistics Leaders, once again takes the No. 2, followed by Louisville, KY at No. 3.
The Logistics Leaders ranking also includes: Chicago, IL; Atlanta, GA; Dallas-Fort Worth, TX; Jacksonville, FL; Savannah, GA; Columbus, OH; and Phoenix, AZ.
Ports: Rating Performance & Capacity
Operational conditions at global ports have improved significantly following the unprecedented levels of disruption triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the most recent fourth edition of the global Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), looks at conditions one year on from its last report. Globally, ports are continuing to clear backlogs, but additional scope for efficiency gains remain. Further digitalization of port processes and modernization of port infrastructure would improve productivity, customer service and emissions reductions, the data suggests.
Developed by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, the fourth edition of the CPPI is a data-based comparable index that ranks 405 global container ports according to their efficiency, which is measured by the elapsed time between when a ship reaches a port to its departure from the berth having completed its cargo exchange. The CPPI ranking is intended to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement for the benefit of the key stakeholders in global trade, including government, shipping lines, port and terminal operators, shippers, logistics companies, business, and consumers.
Based on the CPPI 2023 report and cross referenced with other sources, the Best Performing Ports ranking highlights the Port of Philadelphia (PA) in the No. 1 spot. This is followed by the Port of Charleston (SC); Port Everglades (FL); Port of Wilmington (NC); Port of Boston (MA); Port of Miami (FL); Port of Jacksonville (FL); Port of New York & New Jersey; Port of New Orleans (LA); and Port of Mobile, AL.
To rank Top Container Ports (by TEUs), the “2024 Port Performance Freight Statistics Program: Annual Report to Congress,” was referenced. This report shares insight and data on capacity and throughput at the top U.S. maritime ports, available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) as part of its Port Performance Freight Statistics Program.
Reporting by the BTS Port Performance Freight Statistics Program presents nationally consistent capacity and throughput measures for the top 25 ports by tonnage, 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU), or dry bulk tonnage. Additionally, it reports on recent supply chain challenges and record low water impacting ports on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio rivers.
In addition to the Annual Report, BTS maintains a set of interactive online Port Profiles of the top 50 U.S. ports featuring a wide range of port measures, such as vessel calls by type, vessel dwell times, top commodities, and updates specific to each port. Also, BTS maintains a monthly container port activity dashboard and publishes periodic port-related data spotlights.
Based on the TEU data provided in the BTS report are: No. 1, Port of Los Angeles, CA; No. 2, Port of Long Beach, CA; and No. 3, Port of New York & New Jersey.
Among the Top 10 Ports (based on TEUs) are: Port of Savannah, GA; Port of Virginia, VA; Port Houston, TX; Port of Charleston, SC; Port of Oakland, CA; Port of Tacoma, WA; and Port of Seattle, WA.
Fastest Growing Cities
In May 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau released data on population changes from July 2022-July 2023 across the nation. San Antonio, TX topped the Fastest Growing Cities (by number) in 2023, with the highest rate of growth among U.S. cities and towns with at least 50,000 people.
Following was Fort Worth, TX and Charlotte, NC in the Top 3 Fastest Growing Cities.
Rounding out the Top 10 are: Jacksonville, FL; Port St. Lucie, FL; Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX; Georgetown, TX; Celina, TX; and Raleigh, NC.
For Fastest Growing Cities (by percent), the Top 5 are: Georgetown, TX; Kyle, TX; Queen Creek, AZ; Leander, TX; and Maricopa, AZ.
The ranking is rounded out with: Lehi, UT; Conroe, TX; Casa Grande, AZ; New Braunfels, TX; Little Elm, TX; and Port St. Lucie, FL.
Meanwhile, based on Census data, the Fastest Growing Counties by net migration is led by Polk County, FL; Montgomery County, TX; and Pasco County, FL.
Rounding out the Top 10 are: Collin County, TX; Denton County, TX; Williamson County, TX; Pinal County, AZ; Fort Bend County, TX; Marion County, FL; and Horry County, SC.
When looking at Fastest Growing Counties by population increase, the Top 3 are: Harris County, TX; Collin County, TX; and Montgomery County, TX; Maricopa County, AZ; Polk County, FL; Denton County, TX; Fort Bend County, TX; Bexar County, TX; Tarrant County, TX; Williamson County, TX.
Across the five Business Facilities metro rankings that are focused on population, locations in Florida and Texas occupy a majority of slots. Arizona, North Carolina, and South Carolina also are among high-growth areas, for population.
Tech Talent Leaders
To view the wider lens, the Business Facilities Tech Talent Leaders ranking is split into three lists, by size of tech labor pool. Based in part on data from CBRE, the rankings look at cities’ tech human resources by labor pool over 100K; labor pool 50K-120K; and labor pool under 50K. This provides a clearer look at what talent may be available, based on also what size city a company may be considering.
CBRE’s annual 2023 Scoring Tech Talent report ranks the top 75 tech markets in the U.S. and Canada and outlines the industry’s job-growth trends amid economic shifts and increased remote hiring.
Overall, the U.S. added a net 136,000 tech talent jobs in 2021 across established hubs such as the San Francisco Bay Area, New York and Seattle. Leading Canada’s tech talent growth are Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, among others.
The CBRE report found that growth within tech talent professions and industries was widespread in 2021. The industries that added the largest total (gross) of tech talent were the tech sector (110,300 jobs), life sciences (37,800), and the financial services, insurance and real estate category (18,900). The tech talent professions that added the most jobs overall were software developers (159,500) and tech managers (27,900).
The Business Facilities rankings for Tech Talent (labor pool over 100K) are led by: San Francisco Bay Area, CA; New York Metro, NY; and Washington, DC. When looking at labor pool of 50K-100K, the top cities are: Detroit, MI; Austin, TX; and Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. For labor pool of under 50K, leading locations are: Orlando, FL; Sacramento, CA; and Pittsburgh, PA.
Fintech Growth
From coast to coast, fintech industry players are looking for locations that will provide the infrastructure, workforce, and business climate to support their success. In this year’s Fintech Leaders rankings, highlighted are cities with the workforce, regulatory environment, and overall ecosystem geared for this burgeoning area of the finance world, which includes insurtech, ecommerce, and more.
Leading for overall Fintech Leader markets is New York City, ranked number once again this year. The sheer size of New York City’s financial and technology infrastructure positions the metro as a fintech leader. The rankings looked at the number of fintech startups in cities along with available talent.
Following the Big Apple on the list is San Francisco, CA, well-known for its tech-friendly business climate.
Rounding out the top 5 metros in the Fintech Leaders ranking are: Los Angeles, CA; Washington, DC; and Chicago, IL.
A notable addition to the top 10 in the fintech rankings category is Hartford, CT. The fintech industry in Hartford is experiencing notable growth. This expansion is driven by several factors, including the presence of established financial and insurance companies, as well as a robust ecosystem supporting startups and innovation in the sector.
Hartford is recognized for its strong insurtech presence, which has attracted significant investment. Since 2015, insurtech ventures in the area have raised over $53 billion in funding, with a third of that raised in 2021 alone
According to a report from Mordor Intelligence, the U.S. Fintech Market totaled $4 trillion in 2022, and is expected to register a CAGR of 11% from 2019 to 2028. That’s due to growth in the various segments, including digital payments such as mobile payments and e-commerce, digital investing such as online brokers and robo-advisers, alternative funding such as crowdfunding, and online banking and online insurance marketplaces.
The AI Growth Hubs
New to the Business Facilities Metro rankings this year is AI Growth Hubs, taking a look at primary markets and emerging locations, based on private and public sector resource and talent availability.
According to a recent CBRE release, “Artificial Intelligence: U.S. Talent Spotlight, “Record venture funding for AI-driven companies has fueled this rapid AI talent demand growth. 2021 saw an all-time high for AI venture funding with $62 billion deployed globally, according to Crunchbase. This is a 119% increase from 2020’s total funding amount and a 300% increase from 2016. Total deal volume decreased to $35.2 billion in 2022 but was still 47% above the 10-year rolling annual average. 2023 is on pace to match 2021’s record funding level.
The No. 1 AI Growth Hub in this year’s ranking is: San Francisco Bay Area, CA, followed by New York City, NY and Los Angeles, CA.
Rounding out the Top 10 AI Growth Hubs are: Boston, MA; Seattle, WA; Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD; Austin, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Miami, FL; and Albany, NY.
Agritech & Food Processing
In this 20th annual Metro Rankings Report, two categories look at the ever-growing and important industries of Agritech and Food Processing. Evaluating existing ecosystems, incentives, and available industry-specific assets, the Agritech leading location is Silicon Valley, CA. And, in Food Processing, the top ranked location this year is Savannah, GA.
The other Top 10 Agritech locations are: New York City, NY; Denver/Boulder, CO; Los Angeles, CA; Boston, MA; Vancouver, British Columbia; Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC; Toronto/Waterloo, Ontario; Seattle, WA; and Chicago, IL.
Leading the Food Processing ranking this year is Savannah, GA.
The other Top 10 locations are: Huntsville, AL; Brampton, Ontario; Bowling Green, KY; Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC; Warner Robins, GA; Kansas City, MO-KS; Lafayette/West Lafayette, IN; Nashville-Davidson-Franklin, TN; and Rochester, NY.
Boston Metro: Leading Resources For Life Sciences
Massachusetts is known for its life sciences and biotech markets. And, the Boston metro once again leads the Life Sciences ranking — specifically, the No. 1 location is Boston/Cambridge/Newton, MA-NH. Supporting the life sciences industry in the state is MassBio (Massachusetts Biotechnology Council), a group with a mission to grow the industry, add value to the healthcare system, and improve patient lives. Founded in 1985, MassBio works to advance policy and promote education, while providing member programs, events, industry information, and services for the state’s life sciences cluster—#1 in the world.
MassBio has developed a rating system to determine a municipality’s readiness to host biotechnology facilities based on the community’s zoning practices and infrastructure capacity. BioReady® rates communities in four tiers from Bronze up to Platinum. Through these ratings, MassBio seeks to provide cities and towns a platform to tell their stories that will ultimately help biotechnology companies find the most favorable destinations to locate. There are currently 90 BioReady communities across the Commonwealth.
The Life Sciences Leaders at the N0. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively are San Francisco Bay Area, CA and Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD.
Rounding out the Life Sciences ranking are: New York City/New Jersey; Los Angeles/Orange County, CA; Raleigh/Durham, NC; San Diego/Carlsbad, CA; Philadelphia/Reading/Camden, PA-NJ; Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue, WA; and Denver/Boulder, CO.
The life sciences sector in the U.S. has shown strong growth across various cities, despite some economic challenges. As reflected in the Business Facilities ranking here, key cities driving this growth include Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, and Raleigh-Durham. These hubs benefit from robust venture capital funding, extensive R&D activities, and a growing talent pool. The sector’s expansion is supported by increasing demand for lab spaces, strong pipelines in biotech firms, and significant mergers and acquisitions. Various sources have noted that emerging clusters are developing in cities like Houston, Philadelphia, and New York.
