Laura Layden
Move over New York and Chicago. Step aside San Francisco.
A new study names Naples as a top city for corporate headquarters post-pandemic.
The Boyd Co., a corporate site selection consultant based in Princeton, New Jersey, conducted the national study.
The results reflect the "new normal" of remote work and the growing "fiscal and quality of life challenges" in more traditional hubs for head offices, such as "The Big Apple."
Here's what we know:
More:Best places to live 2022: Naples, Fort Myers fall in U.S. News annual rankings
Earlier:In the Know: SWFL tops in U.S. for corporate relocations, rising home prices; and Old Navy's future
What factors did the study look at?
The study included an examination of annual operating expenses and a review of state tax structures.
The cost analysis is based on operating a new, top tier Class A, 75,000-square-foot corporate headquarters, with 200 administrative support workers, from top to bottom.
The estimated outlay in Naples: Roughly $19.2 million a year.
That compared to more than $21.1 million in Everett, Washington, the most expensive to operate in, and less than $17.8 million in East Brainerd, Tennessee, the cheapest – among the top cities named in the study.
For Naples, that means "you should assume the wider Collier County."
The study factored in all major geographically-variable cost factors considered critical to the corporate site selection process, including labor, real estate, construction, utilities, taxes and travel.
Other Florida cities make the list
Naples is among a total of 30 cities identified as meeting the "new headquarters relocation drivers."
The top three in the country are: Minden, Nevada, in the western region, East Brainerd, Tennessee, in the central region, and Ponte Vedra, Florida, in the eastern region.