The region’s overall costs rank below the
national average and well below those
of Boston, New York and San Francisco, making DFW an attractive place to
expand or relocate major operations or
headquarters.
It’s no wonder that such Fortune 500 companies as American Airlines, RadioShack,
BNSF Railway, XTO Energy, Exxon Mobil,
AT&T, J.C. Penney, Texas Instruments,
Comerica, Dean Foods, Dr. Pepper Snapple
Group, Tenet Healthcare, Money Gram,
and Southwest Airlines have chosen to make
the metroplex their headquarters. State
Farm Insurance signed the largest office
lease in North Texas history in 2012, and
construction began on a 1. 5 million square
feet office space spanning three towers in
CityLine, a massive mixed-use development
in Richardson. The insurance giant reports
an expected 8,000 new hires will be added
once the regional customer center is fully
operational. The facility is expected to open
in 2015.
Other corporate moves announced recently
include San Diego-based companies Active
Network and Omnitracs moving from California to downtown Dallas. Combined,
these companies will generate 1,450 jobs.
San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma
located a regional distribution hub in
Arlington, creating about 100 jobs; and
Toyota will soon consolidate its North
American headquarters for manufacturing,
sales and marketing to a single location in
Plano, bringing approximately 4,000 jobs to
the area.
Others think DFW is good for business, too.
Texas is the #1 state in the U.S. and DFW
the #2 metropolitan area for corporate relocations, according to Site Selection Magazine
and CEO magazine just named Texas the
No. 1 state for business.
A low cost of living, great housing, and
accessibility contribute to the appeal of
the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex to busi-
ness. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Fort
Worth the third most affordable city in
America with a cost of living 10 percent
below the national average and Dallas the
17th most affordable city in America with a
cost of living at 5 percent below the national
mean. Another attraction for business is the
fact that Dallas has no personal or corpo-
rate income tax and no state property tax.
However, much of what makes the Dallas/
Fort Worth metroplex such a strong business
community is an aura of serious, yet healthy
competition that has resulted in multiple
opportunities for job growth, new compa-
nies, a thriving environment to start or
expand a business, and an overall business
commitment to considerable philanthropic
investment in the city.
DFW: EDUCATED WORK-
FORCE, LIVABLE CITY
With more than forty colleges, universities,
trade and specialty schools here, it’s not
surprising that the Dallas/Fort Worth area
is also home to well-educated residents and
college graduates who make ideal employment candidates for many area companies.
In fact, according to recent statistics, 30
percent of the area’s workforce has a college
degree.
The Dallas/Fort Worth area is also an
international destination, which only adds
to its business appeal. More than a million
local residents were born in other countries,
including Latin America, Asia, Africa and
Europe. As a result, local businesses support
more than 20 chambers of commerce and
business associations dedicated to those
regions and countries.
The DFW area’s dedication to technology
and growth has spawned a transportation
Photo courtesy of TxDOT
