IAP Political Forum

A question for the americans on here.

What would you think would be the top 5 american cities with a business reputation?

Where would a foreign multi national or brand new company look to set up their head office in the USA?

I would say a city like Boston that has a comparatively low cost of living to other major cities as well as a major international airport and lots of commuter rail and public transportation. Maybe some of the Southern cities would work because of the lower cost of living. I would not recommend Californian cities due to the high cost of living and lack of public transportation(maybe not lack more not well thought out).

neat thread fort, but can you please tailor the question in a more narrow fashion?

What type of business?  What are its goals? 

Going just by gross business capital flows obviously NY, Houston, DC, Chicago, and LA are at the top.

You're exactly right. It all depends on the type of business. Sometimes, the best place might not even be in a major city. I live in an economically depressed, but fairly well educated (on average) rural area. This place is ripe for the type of business (mapping) I'd like to start. Rural areas, or smaller/less affluent cities are good for operations that involve information. Data can be shipped in and out at a very low cost, and labor cost can be kept down in areas with lower cost of living. You might be surprised how well one can live on $10 an hour around here.

If I were to pick a city for an operation like this, it would most likely be Pittsburgh or a similar old industrial center that has seen widespread decline.

Internet also has an impact.

Thanks for the feedback guys  :)

I probably didn't word the OP well enough.

I guess I was thinking about reputation or US cities synonomous with business.

For example, as a foreigner, if I think of entertainment I think Hollywood. If I think of gay living I think of San Francisco. If i think of Jazz I think of New Orleans. If I think of hi tech, I think of silicon valley, etc etc. So I was wondering, when americans think of business, what cities do they think of?

I would think of New York, Boston, but are there any other main ones which fly under the radar or rank close to New York?

Most countries have places with business reputation. Germany has Frankfurt, Brasil has Sao Paulo, Australia has Sydney.

I was curious on America's main business cities, or what posters here thought they would be.

New York is the financial securities/banking/consulting capital

Chicago/Detroit has historically been the manufacturing capitals (but Chicago is changing to a corp. headquarters center for a few financial security firms, manufacturing corps, but mostly the advertising mecca)

Dallas, Houston, and Irving (Texas cities) are the big energy hubs

LA is entertainment

Northern California and the Northwest (Portland and Oregon) are the Tech regions

and the DC area is the political and defense/security manufacturing corp headquarters spot.

In my current city of Phoenix (which is the fastest growing city in the US) there isn't really any single industry that gives this place a reputation...its mostly entrepreneurs and hodge podge of businesses.  Its the place to retire at.

Texas, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona are the states experiencing the most financial and populous growth.

Phoenix is kind of an interesting case. It's development didn't follow the normal pattern of large population centers being located at a natural shipping transfer point, near major major resources or at the intersection of major routes of travel.

It's a good symbol for a new type of American city. Fairly young (in relation to it's current size), and a result of innovation in transport of people, goods and ideas.

Phoenix is an oft pointed to city in the field of urban and metropolitan studies, because it shows the shortcomings of our theories on urban location prediction. It's a good example of how some of the old "rules" don't apply anymore.


It seems natural that it wouldn't have arisen as a hub of any one industry, but that business would still be booming.

Thanks for that reply Neo.  :)

It is a really informative and interesting post. It answered my question perfectly.