NEW ORLEANS – According to the 2016 Competitive Alternatives study by KPMG LLP, an audit, tax and advisory firm, Greater New Orleans is the #2 most cost-friendly mid-size market (pop. 750K – 2M) for business in the United States.
Baton Rouge, LA, ranked #1 among the 18 mid-size markets considered.
The 2016 KPMG Competitive Alternatives study measured 26 key cost components in each market, including costs associated with taxes, labor, facilities, transportation and utilities, as they apply to seven different business-to-business service sector operations and 12 different manufacturing sector operations.
The KPMG study revealed that Baton Rouge had a cost index of 92.8, representing business costs 7.2 percent below the U.S. national baseline of 100.0. New Orleans followed at 93.1.
Baton Rouge’s top ranking results primarily from its low property taxes and low costs for industrial construction and natural gas, coupled with the second lowest electricity costs and moderately low labor costs. Various state incentives help give Baton Rouge the second lowest effective corporate income tax rate.
Relative to nearby Baton Rouge, New Orleans has higher labor, electricity and property tax costs and ranked second for industrial construction costs. However, New Orleans has the lowest effective corporate income tax rate among the group of mid-sized cities compared, as well as low transportation and office lease costs.
“KPMG’s Competitive Alternatives study provides insight into business location costs in cities across the United States and serves as a valuable benchmark for business executives, economic developers and policymakers considering sites for their business operations,” said Ulrich Schmidt, a managing director in KPMG’s Global Location and Expansion Services practice, which helps companies that are expanding, relocating or consolidating their facilities. “Many factors go into site selection decisions, and a study such as ours helps businesses, city leaders and economic development teams begin to consider investments that should ultimately be good for the community and good for business.”
The Top 10 Most Cost-Friendly Mid-Sized Markets in the USA are:
• Baton Rouge
• New Orleans
• Nashville
• Omaha
• Albuquerque
• Memphis
• Indianapolis
• Oklahoma City
• Salt Lake City
• Raleigh
