Our new year got off to a great start with the publication of Site Selection Magazine’s January issue, which included the results of its annual site selectors survey. Each year, dozens of the most influential site selection consultants in the country are polled to pick their best states for business climate, manufacturing projects, headquarters projects and more. And this was the first time in the history of the poll that Tampa made it into the top 10 headquarters city list, debuting at number five. How’s that for an auspicious beginning to 2026?
As longtime EDC Investors and followers know, our leadership has always wanted Tampa and Hillsborough County to be among the most sought-after locations in the country for headquarters operations. This ranking, coming six months after the Financial Times-Nikkei ranking of Tampa as the #1 city in the U.S. for foreign businesses to locate, is further evidence that we’ve leveled up to a whole new category as a business destination. And we’re just getting started.
We invited Ron Starner, executive vice president of Conway Data and Site Selection Magazine, to join our board earlier this month to share some more data that sheds light on Tampa’s snowballing progress (sorry, since the weather is actually forecasting snow in Florida this weekend – I couldn’t resist!). In addition to our exceptional and growing pool of diversely skilled talent, Tampa is still considered a great value. Our city has the third lowest annual operating costs of the top 25 head office markets in the world, according to Biz Costs – behind Milan and Hong Kong. We’re a better value than domestic competitors Charlotte, Dallas and Atlanta as well. Another metric Ron cited that struck a chord with our leaders was our economic strength. Mark Fruth of Policom has been tracking the economic strength of 384 U.S. Metropolitan areas for the past twenty years. He classifies economic strength as a market’s long-term tendency to grow both in size and quality. The rankings are determined by measuring the MSAs’ growth and consistency across 23 specific economic issues. In 2015, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area ranked 132 out of 384 metros. In 2024, we ranked number 25. In the past five years alone, we leapfrogged 65 spots. No matter what ranking or study you refer to, the evidence of Tampa’s robust economic vitality is undeniable.
Our Investors and team are fired up and determined to accelerate our momentum this year. Tampa is a truly special place, thanks to the remarkable people who live here, love this community, and strive to make it better every day. As our Chair, Archie Collins, said to Ron at the board meeting, we’re going to work hard to make it to number one on that headquarters list. Buckle up – it’s going to be a busy year!
Craig
