Site Selection magazine has listed Chicago as the best city for corporate investment for the fourth consecutive year. This comes as little surprise with the long list of large corporations that have been moving their headquarters into downtown Chicago. So, what makes this city such an attractive investment for businesses?
Home to Headquarters
Since Google moved to Chicago, a number of other large companies have thrown their hat in the ring, such as McDonald’s, Wilson Sporting Goods, Cars.com and Motorola Solutions. While the stream of corporate giants relocating to Chicago appears to have slowed, other large businesses (Kraft-Heinz, ConAgra and GE) have announced their plans to relocate to downtown Chicago as well. This trend has extended beyond the corporate giants, as World Business Chicago reports that the entire Chicago metro area saw 350 corporate expansions and relocations in 2016.
Top-Tier Talent
Within Chicago’s city limits is one of the country’s largest concentration of universities. Which unsurprisingly leads to 36 percent of people in Chicago earning a four year college degree, compared to the 30 percent national average. Corporations are moving to be closer to where their employees want to live, which allows them to create a greater range of amenities to provide a higher quality of life for their workforce. Compared to California, New York and Boston, Chicago has a low cost of living while maintaining a high caliber quality of life (clean parks, museums, elite restaurant scene, iconic sports teams, etc.).
Good For Business
Chicago leads all major U.S. cities in direct foreign investments, which is a critical element of creating a successful global economy. With the 350 corporate expansions and relocations in 2016, came nearly $2.8 billion in new investments and roughly 14,000 jobs. Chicago is a leader when it comes to business growth, and that doesn’t exclude small businesses. The city of Chicago ranks among the best in the world for tech startups to plant their roots, as Chicago has a reasonable cost of living and cost of operating a company. After three consecutive years as the leader of corporate relocations, more top talent is following. This has helped lift Chicago to become a renowned technology hub, as well as a location for companies and their employees to flourish.
The last four years have been significant for the city of Chicago, as it grows into its role as the nation’s best location to invest. With access to highly educated talent, an elite business community and a leading startup scene, Chicago appears poised for ongoing, long-term success.
