Commentary: Metros With Solid Prime Workforces Garner Significant Investment
Small and medium-sized metros with a pipeline of educated workers at a competitive cost are attracting companies looking for long-term growth.
Q4 2023
The process for evaluating potential new locations typically seeks to optimize between three areas: talent supply and quality, talent cost, and the local competitive environment. Metrics in each of these categories are evaluated to understand not just today’s market conditions but also its historical performance and likely future trajectory to ensure long-term sustainability for our clients.
The U.S. locations that tend to perform best are small to medium metros with robust university talent pipelines and above-average population growth driven by in-migration. Markets with a balanced competitive environment as measured by turnover rates, job posting volume, and wage inflation also perform best in that they pose less talent attraction and retention risk for our clients over the longer term.
Some of the top-ranked metros in Area Development’s report that we also see appearing frequently on the shortlist for office clients include places such as Salt Lake City-Provo, UT; Missoula, MT; Tampa, FL; Jacksonville, FL; Phoenix, AZ; and Charleston, SC (among others). While these locations have many differences, they’re similar in that they are all growing geographies with an educated workforce that is generally not oversaturated by competition, and they present talent cost savings opportunities, especially versus gateway coastal markets. On top of these factors, these locations also boast high quality of place and unique local character, which is attractive for clients looking to promote the relocation of employees from existing offices to their newly opened locations.
Project Announcements
Valmont Industries Plans Marion County, Tennessee, Production Operations
05/10/2024
Worksport Expands West Seneca, New York, Operations
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Clark Gas Co. Propane Cylinder Exchange Plans Thomasville, Alabama, Distribution Operations
05/10/2024
Columbia Vehicle Group Plans Aiken, South Carolina, Production Operations
05/09/2024
FIFCO USA Expands Rochester, New York, Genesee Brewery Operations
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Australia-Based Fortescue Establishes Buckeye, Arizona, Green Hydrogen Operations
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