Amazon’s search for HQ2 has stirred up city officials and developers across the country, and 238 applicants across North America have expressed interest in housing the company’s next headquarters.
Of course, the retail giant has a few requirements: the chosen metropolitan area should ideally house at least 1 million people, an international airport, and a “stable and business-friendly environment.” That seems fair for a juggernaut like Amazon, but what about smaller companies?
Commercial Cafe enlisted the help of Yardi Matrix data, alongside other data providers and public sources, to find the best city for starting up or to relocating a business.
Commercial Cafe compared all U.S. cities with a population of more than 100,000, came up with six major relocation decision metrics and then awarded each city a number of points based on how it fared for each metric. Bonus points were also given depending on population range.
In the end, the overall score was calculated by adding up individual scores obtained for each of the six criteria:
— Number of graduates with a higher-education degree
— Job growth
— Average annual wage
— Average lease rate for office spaces
— Mean commute time
— and average rent per square foot.
While Phoenix, Arizona topped the list, some Texas and specifically North Texas cities weren’t far off. In fact, Texas cities take five of the top 20 spots, so the Lone Star State is definitely a contender when considering where to start or move your business.
According to Commercial Cafe’s study, San Antonio the No. 1 choice in Texas, followed by Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and Houston.
Rankings:
— San Antonio, 104.1 (2nd)
— Dallas, 98.79 (5th)
— Fort Worth, 94.54 (12th)
— Austin, 94.41 (13th)
— Houston, 93.66 (14th)
For more information, or to see where your favorite city falls on the ranking, please visit https://www.commercialcafe.com/blog/2017/11/01/looking-relocate-business-phoenix-best-bet/.