Locations

Nashville, TN

As the “home of country music”, Nashville has become a major music recording and production center. All of the Big Four record labels, as well as numerous independent labels, have offices in Nashville, mostly in the Music Row area. Nashville has been home to the headquarters of guitar company Gibson. Although Nashville is renowned as a music recording center and tourist destination, its largest industry is actually health care. Nashville is home to more than 300 health care companies, including Hospital Corporation of America, the largest private operator of hospitals in the world. The automotive industry is also becoming increasingly important for the entire Middle Tennessee region. Nissan North America has its corporate headquarters in Franklin, southwest of Nashville. Nissan also has its largest North American manufacturing plant in Smyrna, Tennessee. Largely as a result of the increased development of Nissan and other Japanese economic interests in the region, Japan moved its New Orleans consulate-general to Nashville’s Palmer Plaza. Other major industries in Nashville include insurance, finance, and publishing. Fortune 500 companies with offices within Nashville include Dell, HCA and Dollar General.

New York, NY

New York is a global hub of international business and commerce and is one of three “command centers” for the world economy (along with London and Tokyo). The city is a major center for banking and finance, retailing, world trade, transportation, tourism, real estate, new media as well as traditional media, advertising, legal services, accountancy, insurance, theatre, fashion, and the arts in the United States. New York City has been ranked first among 120 cities across the globe in attracting capital, business, and tourists. Many major corporations are headquartered in New York City, including 45 Fortune 500 companies. New York is also unique among American cities for its large number of foreign corporations. One out of ten private sector jobs in the city is with a foreign company.

News Orleans, LA

New Orleans has one of the largest and busiest ports in the world, and metropolitan New Orleans is a center of maritime industry. The New Orleans region also accounts for a significant portion of the nation’s oil refining and petrochemical production, and serves as a white-collar corporate base for onshore and offshore petroleum and natural gas production. New Orleans is a center for higher learning, with over 50,000 students enrolled in the region’s eleven two- and four-year degree granting institutions. A top-50 research university, Tulane University, is located in New Orleans’ Uptown neighborhood. Metropolitan New Orleans is a major regional hub for the health care industry and boasts a small, globally competitive manufacturing sector. The center city possesses a rapidly growing, entrepreneurial creative industries sector, and is renowned for its cultural tourism. Greater New Orleans, Inc. acts as the first point-of-contact for regional economic development, coordinating between Louisiana’s Department of Economic Development and the various parochial business development agencies.

Nouakchott, Mauritania

Nouakchott derived from Berber word; Nawaksu meaning (“place of the winds”) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. It is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. Nouakchott was a small village of little importance until 1958, when it was chosen as the capital of the nascent nation of Mauritania. It was designed and built to accommodate 15,000 people, but droughts and increasing desertification since the 1970s have displaced a vast number of Mauritanians who resettled in Nouakchott. This caused massive urban growth and overcrowding, with the city having an official population of just under a million as of 2013. The resettled population inhabited slum areas under poor conditions, but the living conditions of a portion of these inhabitants have since been ameliorated. The city is the hub of the Mauritanian economy and is home to a deep-water port and one of the country’s two international airports. It hosts the University of Nouakchott and several other more specialized institutes of higher learning.

Oakland, CA

Oakland’s leading industries are business and health care services, transportation, food processing, light manufacturing, government, arts, culture, and entertainment. The Port of Oakland is one of the busiest ports in the world for container ships. Nearly 200,000 jobs are related to the movement of cargo through Oakland marine terminals. Chief exports at the port include fruits and vegetables, waste paper, red meat and poultry, resins, chemicals, animal feed, raw cotton, wood and lumber, crude fertilizers/minerals, industrial machinery, and cereal. Oakland’s principal imports include auto parts, computer equipment, wearing apparel, toys, games and items made of plastic, processed fruits and vegetables, fasteners and household metal products, red meat, pottery, glassware and ceramics, iron and steel, beverages, and lumber products. Oakland is an important commercial center. Approximately 13 percent of Oakland’s work force is employed in the wholesale and retail trade. The city has hundreds of manufacturing plants employing almost 9 percent of the city’s workers. Shipbuilding has flourished along the city’s inner harbor. Other major industries include electrical equipment, chemicals, glass, automobiles and trucks, and pharmaceuticals. Oakland’s leading industry sectors include business services, health care services, transportation, food processing, light manufacturing, government, arts, culture and entertainment. In 2002, Oakland was ranked the 8th best city in the nation for business in the Forbes annual survey of the Best Places in America for Business and Careers. In the mid-2000s, Oakland benefited from a strong and diverse business environment. Among its major corporations were Clorox, Kaiser Permanente, Cost Plus, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, APL Limited, and Rainin Instruments. According to the Landauer Realty Group, out of the 60 largest office markets in the United States, Oakland was expected to have the strongest market for the next several years. Items and goods produced: processed foods, transportation equipment, fabricated metal products, non-electrical machinery, electrical equipment, clay and glass products.

Omaha, NE

Omaha, Nebraska (a Midwestern City of just under a half million population) is a quiet yet powerful US business center, with a strong economy. Home of several Fortune 500 companies (Warren Buffett’s Berkshire-Hathaway, Con-Agra Foods, Union Pacific, Mutual of Omaha), it also is home to a broad range of industries, ranging from one of the largest construction companies in the US (Peter Kiewit Sons) and the leading credit card processor (First Data), to being headquarters of the Strategic Air Command. Naturally being located in the Midwest farm belt, agricultural manufacturing in the form of Food manufacturing, including meat processing, is its largest industry. It is followed by financial services, health care, transportation and the aforementioned military.

Settled by European immigrants in the great Western expansion, its strategic location on the banks of the Missouri River made it a vibrant hub between the Eastern and Western US, and provided great opportunities to build new businesses to serve a growing nation. This drive and work ethic continues to maintain and grow the business economy. And as a community, it has a blend of ethnic neighborhood communities and spacious suburbs – all with very affordable and stable housing values. Good schools from elementary to college provide a well-educated and motivated workforce. There has been a long support of cultural and sports activities (the College World Series among the most well-known), and the recent additions of new stadiums and performance centers has greatly enhanced the quality of life experience. Altogether the outlook looks bright for Omaha as a business center, and entrepreneurs are recognizing the potential and opportunities.

Orlando, FL

The City of Orlando is an international business center. A bustling downtown draws businesses of all types and is especially strong in its ability to attract corporate headquarters. Some of those that have selected downtown Orlando include BBA Aviation, Signature Flight Services, CuraScript and Indra Systems, Inc. The city’s potential has only begun to be realized. Numerous major multi-use commercial projects are on the drawing board. An unprecedented level of office development is planned for downtown Orlando. All told, more than one million additional square feet of construction has been announced for the downtown business district. But, downtown Orlando is more than just business. Ten public and private secondary schools, all noted for excellence and innovative teaching, bring schoolchildren of all socio-economic realms into our downtown on a daily basis. Downtown is also alive with higher education. In addition to its downtown center that specializes in continuing education, the University of Central Florida’s Interactive Entertainment Academy’s (FIEA) state-of-the-art facilities and faculty train graduate-level game developers on an innovative campus once housed the City’s local expo center. UCF is also planning an expanded downtown campus to enhance educational opportunities for students which will further energize downtown. Florida A&M’s Law School opened in downtown Orlando in fall 2002. Florida State University’s Medical School has a regional campus in Delaney Park, just south of downtown, where third and fourth year medical students complete their training through involvement with two of the nation’s largest healthcare systems, both of which are also located in downtown Orlando. Valencia College also has a downtown Orlando campus.

Oslo, Norway

Oslo is an important centre of maritime knowledge in Europe and is home to approximately 1980 companies and 8,500 employees within the maritime sector, some of which are the world’s largest shipping companies, shipbrokers, and insurance brokers. Det Norske Veritas, headquartered at Høvik outside Oslo, is one of the three major maritime classification societies in the world, with 16.5% of the world fleet to class in its register. The city’s port is the largest general cargo port in the country and its leading passenger gateway. Close to 6,000 ships dock at the Port of Oslo annually with a total of 6 million tonnes of cargo and over five million passengers. The gross domestic product of Oslo amounts to 17% of the national GDP. The metropolitan area, bar Moss and Drammen, contributed 25% of the national GDP and is responsible for more than one quarter of tax revenues. In comparison, total tax revenues from the oil and gas industry on the Norwegian Continental Shelf amounted to about 16%. Oslo is one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Palm Springs, CA

The economy of Palm Springs is driven by tourism, real estate development, agriculture, medical and leisure activities. While the Coachella Valley is known for golfing, heat and playground of the stars, it has become more of a year round community. Being only a 2 hour drive from both Los Angeles and San Diego, it is home to millions of visitors, conventions and corporate meetings annually.

Panama City, Panama

Panama has been granted with a privileged geography and location. Historically, Panama has been dependent of world economy and trade. Another important factor is that Panama is a dollarized economy with low inflation rates which provides investment security to investors. The economy is mainly driven by service industries, including the Panama Canal, Free trade zones, financial and medical services. Due to the Panama Channel, logistics operators industry has flourished. Vessel traffic has increased exponentially even beyond the original construction estimates. With increased pressure on reducing transportation cost of goods, the Panama Canal expansion project is already in progress, which will enable larger than Panamax vessels to travel through the channel. Neighboring countries are looking into getting a slice of profit by connecting both oceans. Both Nicaragua (canal) and Colombia (rail link) have been exploring options to drive traffic through their borders. While this remains as an important threat, Panama has been preparing itself getting ahead of the game. In addition, the economic stability, sustained city growth and stricter controls on the financial service sectors have helped Panama to attract foreign investment into the country, allowing GDP growth or even stability during global turmoil. Internally, infrastructure growth investment in roads and transportation is still an opportunity. This will require further attention as it could stagnate the potential economic growth of the city. A collapse in the internal flow of goods and people would quickly impact transportation costs and reduce economic competitiveness. Another opportunity area is education. As the city has grown, demand of skilled workers has significantly increased making it hard for companies to find local talent. This will be an important area to address in order to remain competitive in the future.

Paris, France

The Paris Region is France’s premier centre of economic activity, and with a GDP of €607 billion (US$845 billion), it is not only the wealthiest area of France, but has one of the highest GDPs in the world, after Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Seoul and London making it an engine of the global economy. Were it a country, it would rank as the seventeenth-largest economy in the world, larger than the Turkish and Dutch economies and almost as large as Indonesia’s. While its population accounts for 18.8 percent of the total population of metropolitan France, its GDP accounts for 31.0 per cent of metropolitan France’s GDP. Wealth is heavily concentrated in the western suburbs of Paris, notably Neuilly-sur-Seine, one of the wealthiest areas of France. This mirrors a sharp political divide, with political conservatism being much more common towards the western edge, whilst the political spectrum lies more to the left in the east. The Parisian economy has been gradually shifting towards high-value-added service industries (finance, IT services, etc.) and high-tech manufacturing (electronics, optics, aerospace, etc.). However, in the European Green City Index, Paris was still listed as the second most”green” large city in Europe, after Berlin. While the Paris economy is largely dominated by services, it remains an important manufacturing powerhouse of Europe, especially in industrial sectors such as automobiles, aeronautics, and electronics. The Paris Region hosts the headquarters of 30 of the Fortune Global 500 companies.

Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia is the center of economic activity in Pennsylvania. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Philadelphia area is the seventh-largest metropolitan economy in the United States. Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. The city is also the nation’s fourth-largest consumer media market. The city is home to the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and several Fortune 500 companies. Philadelphia’s economic sectors include information technology, manufacturing, oil refining, food processing, health care and biotechnology, tourism and financial services. Philadelphia has shifted to an information technology and service-based economy. Financial activities account for the largest sector of the metro economy, and it is one of the largest health education and research centers in the United States.

Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix is currently home to four Fortune 500 companies: electronics corporation Avnet, mining company Freeport-McMoRan, retailer PetSmart and waste hauler Republic Services. Honeywell’s Aerospace division is headquartered in Phoenix, and the valley hosts many of their avionics and mechanical facilities. Intel has one of their largest sites in the area, the second largest Intel location in the country. American Express hosts their financial transactions, customer information, and their entire website in Phoenix. The city is also home to: the headquarters of U-HAUL International, a rental and moving supply company; Best Western, the world’s largest family of hotels; Apollo Group, parent of the University of Phoenix; and utility company Pinnacle West. Choice Hotels International has its IT division and operations support center in the North Phoenix area. US Airways, now merged with American Airlines has a strong presence in Phoenix, with the corporate headquarters located in the city prior to the merger. US Air/American Airlines is the largest carrier at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix. Mesa Air Group, a regional airline group, is headquartered in Phoenix.

Port-Harcourt, Nigeria

Port-Harcourt is a Mayoralty and the capital of Rivers State, South-South, Nigeria. It lies along the Bonny River and is located in the Niger Delta. As of 2016, the Port Harcourt urban area has an estimated population of 1,865,000 inhabitants, up from 1,382,592 as of 2006. The area that became Port Harcourt in 1912 was before that part of the farmlands of the Diobu village group of the Ikwerre people. The colonial administration of Nigeria created the port to export coal from the collieries of Enugu located 243 kilometers (151 mi) north of Port Harcourt, to which it was linked by a railway called the Eastern Line, also built by the British. In 1956 crude oil was discovered in commercial quantities at Oloibiri, and Port Harcourt’s economy turned to petroleum when the first shipment of Nigerian crude oil was exported through the city in 1958. Through the benefits of the Nigerian petroleum industry, Port Harcourt was further developed, with aspects of modernization such as overpasses, city blocks and taller more substantial buildings. Oil firms that currently have offices in the city include Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron. There are a number of institutions of tertiary education in Port Harcourt, mostly government-owned. These institutions include, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State College of Arts and Science, Ignatius Ajuru University and Rivers State College of Health Science and Technology. The current Mayor is Soni Sam Ejekwu. Port Harcourt’s primary airport is Port Harcourt International Airport, located on the outskirts of the city; the NAF base is the location of the only other airport and is used by commercial airlines Aero Contractors and Air Nigeria for domestic flights.

Princeton, NJ

Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, that was established in its current form on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township. As of the 2010 United States Census, the municipality’s population was 28,572, reflecting the former township’s population of 16,265, along with the 12,307 in the former borough. Princeton was founded before the American Revolution and is best known as the location of Princeton University, located in the community since 1756. Although its association with the university is primarily what makes Princeton a college town, other important institutions in the area include the Institute for Advanced Study, Westminster Choir College, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton Theological Seminary, Opinion Research Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Siemens Corporate Research, SRI International, FMC Corporation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Amrep, Church and Dwight, Berlitz International, and Dow Jones & Company. Princeton University is a dominant feature of the community. Its main campus has its historic center on Nassau Street in the borough and stretches south into the township. Its James Forrestal satellite campus is located in Plainsboro Township, and some playing fields lie within adjacent West Windsor Township. The Princeton campus is known for having Albert Einstein lecture as well as being one of the original seven Ivy League schools. Westminster Choir College, the renowned school of music presently owned by Rider University, established in Princeton in 1932. The Institute for Advanced Study is in the borough and maintains extensive land holdings (the “Institute Woods”) there. Bristol-Myers Squibb is a client of Ms. Matteson’s.

Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, located in Wake, County, North Carolina, also known as the “Oak City,” is the State’s capital and second largest city with a population of about 2,100,000 people. It is also a part of the Triangle area of Durham, and Chapel Hill. Raleigh’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP) in fiscal year 2013 was close to $70 billion out of the state’s combined metro GDP that was closer to $410 billion. Some of the leading market research companies in Raleigh are SAS Institute, located in the suburb of Cary, NC, the Carolina Hurricanes, BB&T Insurance Services, First Citizens Bank, Red Hat, North Carolina Symphony, Carolina Ballet and Capital Broadcasting Company. Raleigh’s Key Location Objectives (KLO), are in state government, the arts, banking and financial services, technology and pharmaceuticals. Raleigh, is also home to a key educational, research and development, and engineering institutions – North Carolina State University, Peace College, and Shaw University. The unemployment rate in Raleigh is around 4.5%, and the sales tax is about 6.75%. The median income is 50,000 – $55,000. Some of the leading economic growth sectors are in management, public administration, law, business and finance, engineering, and computer science.

Reston, VA

Like Alexandria, VA, Reston is both part of the larger economic, cultural, professional, and recreational Washington, DC metropolitan scene. But also like Alexandria, it is also its own vibrant community where people live, work, go to school and recreate. It has its own charm and personality, and more importantly, part of its upscale desirability is that it sits astride the Dulles Technology Corridor and is home to some of the most forward leaning technology firms in the nation, region, and local area. According to Wikipedia, Reston is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 58,404 at the 2010 census. Originally, an internationally known planned community founded in 1964, it was built with the goal of revolutionizing post–World War II concepts of land use and residential/corporate development in suburban America. The Reston Town Center is home to many businesses, with high-rise and low-rise commercial buildings that are home to shops, restaurants, offices, a cinema, and a hotel. It comprises over 1,000,000 square feet of office space. In 2012, Reston was ranked 7th in the Best Place to Live in America by CNNMoney Magazine. Reston is one of those red-hot places to live, work, and play favored by the upwardly mobile. As mentioned, the city stands alone, yet it is an integral part of the Washington, DC metropolitan area. This has the effect of localizing a highly professional workforce, but of attracting firms and employees from all over the region.

Richmond, VA

Sitting astride the James River, Richmond, VA is a charming amalgamation of old world charm and a modern vibrant economy linking many different industries with any of a national, regional, or local focus. Located approximately 100 miles south of Washington, DC, Richmond and Washington anchor the southern end of the mid-Atlantic megalopolis stretching from Richmond in the south to Boston in the north. Viewed this way, although Richmond is a strong, stand-along market in its own right, a part of its appeal is relationship to other regional and national businesses in multiple industries. Not all of the press is good, however, and recently, Wells Fargo Bank, headquartered in the Richmond area, faced a lot of public and regulatory scrutiny over unscrupulous account manipulation. Aside from banking, Richmond is home to Tobacco industry market leader Phillip Morris. Thinking about history and stability, according to Wikipedia, Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and the Greater Richmond Region. It was incorporated in 1742, and has been an independent city since 1871. As of the 2010 census, the Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, making it the third-most populous metro in the state. Richmond’s economy is primarily driven by law, finance, and government, with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, as well as notable legal and banking firms, located in the downtown area. The city is home to both the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, one of 13 United States courts of appeals, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, one of 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Dominion Resources and WestRock, Several Fortune 500 companies, are headquartered in the city, with others in the metropolitan area.

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro has the second largest GDP of any city in Brazil, surpassed only by São Paulo. According to the IBGE, it is approximately US$ 201 billion, equivalent to 5.1% of the national total. The services sector comprises the largest portion of GDP (65.52%), followed by commerce (23.38%), industrial activities (11.06%) and agriculture (0.04%). Greater Rio de Janeiro, as perceived by the IBGE, has a GDP of US$ 187.374.116.000, constituting the second largest hub of national wealth. Per capita GDP is US$ 11,786. It concentrates 68% of the state’s economic strength and 7.91% of all goods and services produced in the country. Taking into consideration the network of influence exerted by the urban metropolis (which covers 11.3% of the population), this share in GDP rises to 14.4%. For many years brings together the second largest industrial hub of Brazil, with oil refineries, shipbuilding industries, steel, metallurgy, petrochemical, gas, chemical, textile, printing, publishing, pharmaceutical, beverages, cement and furniture. However, the last decades indicated a sharp transformation in its economic profile, which is acquiring more and more shades of a major national hub of services and businesses. The Stock Exchange of Rio de Janeiro (BVRJ), which currently trades only government securities, was the first stock exchange founded in Brazil in 1845 and located in the central region. Rio de Janeiro became an attractive place for companies to locate when it was the capital of Brazil, as important sectors of society and of the government were present in the city. The city was chosen as headquarters for state-owned companies such as Petrobras, Eletrobras, Caixa Econômica Federal and Vale. After the transfer of the capital to Brasília, it kept attracting more companies, especially after the discovery of oil in the Campos Basin, which produces most of the total oil production of Brazil. This made many oil and gas companies to be based in Rio de Janeiro, such as the Brazilian branches of Shell, EBX and Esso. The headquarters of BNDES, an important state institution, is also in Rio de Janeiro. The city is also the headquarters of large telecom companies, such as Intelig, Oi and Embratel. Rio ranks second nationally in industrial production and second financial and service center, trailing only São Paulo. The city’s industries produce processed foods, chemicals, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, metal products, ships, textiles, clothing, and furniture. The service sector dominates the economy, however, and includes banking and the second most active stock market in Brazil, the Bolsa da Valores do Brasil.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has an oil-based economy with h2 government controls over major economic activities. It possesses about 20% of the world’s proven petroleum reserves, ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a leading role in OPEC. The petroleum sector accounts for roughly 80% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. Saudi Arabia is encouraging the growth of the private sector in order to diversify its economy and to employ more Saudi nationals. Diversification efforts are focusing on power generation, telecommunications, natural gas exploration, and petrochemical sectors. As part of its effort to attract foreign investment, Saudi Arabia acceded to the WTO after many years of negotiations. The government has begun establishing six “economic cities” in different regions of the country to promote foreign investment and plans to spend $373 billion on social development and infrastructure projects to advance Saudi Arabia’s economic development.

Rome, Italy

Being the capital city of Italy, Rome hosts all the principal institutions of the nation, like the Presidency of the Republic, the government (and its single Ministeri), the Parliament, the main judicial Courts, and the diplomatic representatives of all the countries for the states of Italy and the Vatican City (curiously, Rome also hosts, in the Italian part of its territory, the Embassy of Italy for the Vatican City, a unique case of an Embassy within the boundaries of its own country). Many international institutions are located in Rome, notably cultural and scientific ones – such as the American Institute, the British School, the French Academy, the Scandinavian Institutes, the German Archaeological Institute – for the honour of scholarship in the Eternal City, and Specialized Agencies of the United Nations, such as the FAO. Rome, also hosts major international and worldwide political and cultural organisations, such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Food Programme (WFP), the NATO Defence College and ICCROM, the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property. Although the economy of Rome is characterized by the absence of heavy industry and it is largely dominated by services, high-technology companies (IT, aerospace, defence, telecommunications), research, construction and commercial activities (especially banking), and the huge development of tourism are very dynamic and extremely important to its economy. Rome’s international airport, Fiumicino, is the largest in Italy, and the city hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Italian companies, as well as the headquarters of three of the world’s 100 largest companies: Enel, Eni, and Telecom Italia.

Salt Lake City, UT

One Fortune 500 company is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Huntsman Corporation and two Fortune 1000 companies, Zions Bancorporation and Questar Corporation. AlphaGraphics, Sinclair Oil, Franklin Covey, and Overstock.com are smaller companies that are located around SLC. Adobe, Unisys. Micron, and 3M are a few of the large technology companies with major operations in the area. The Salt Lake area houses about 44% of Utah’s labor force and joins the state of Utah with having the second lowest unemployment rate in the nation. The economy of SLC and surrounding areas continues a strong rebound from the past recession and the rate of growth is almost twice that of the national rate. The major employers of the area are Delta Airlines, University of Utah, Sinclair Oil Corporation and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Local, state and federal governments are the number one employer followed by trade, transportation, utilities, professional and business services, and health and health educational services. These areas along with construction had the strongest growth in employment. SLC is the largest banking center in the United States and is known as the ‘Crossroads of the West” because of its central location in the western United States. The distance from Los Angeles, Denver, San Francisco, Portland, Phoenix and Seattle are approximately the same. This is the reason many regional transportation centers are located in the area. Though less than half of the people living in the SLC area are Mormon, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a significant and positive impact on the culture of the SLC area. The people are generally healthy, hardworking and responsible. There is a high birth rate that is contributing to the population growth. Young Mormon men are strongly encouraged, if not required to spend two years in the mission field. These men return with fluent foreign language skills as well as sales skills. When these young people return from the mission fields they enter the workforce. They tend to be knowledgeable and highly educated in the technical and business fields as well as possessing world experiences, making them excellent employees.

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg is the most economically active federal state after Vienna which, being the federal capital, enjoys a special status and takes up a leading position in value creation, tax revenues, employment and low unemployment – among the Austrian federal states but also internationally. Salzburg acts as the economic hub of Europe and is ranked among the most economically dynamic regions in Europe. Furthermore, the federal state capital is Austria’s trade fair and automobile metropolis. For example the Salzburger Porsche Holding was Austria’s most profitable enterprise with a recent turnover of just under 13 billion Euro. Most car importers have their registered office in Salzburg. Thousands of jobs are created by companies like Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Suzuki and Jaguar. Europe’s point of intersection is the ideal location for the internationally operating transport and logistics companies which have settled here. For more than 35 years Salzburg’s exhibition centre has been the most successful trade fair centre in Austria. As an investment location Land Salzburg holds a constantly high position in the European ranking. Assessments carried out by international institutions have repeatedly confirmed Salzburg’s quality as a business location. Salzburg’s economic performance amounts to approximately 20 billion Euro a year. The strong economic performance has a direct effect on employment statistics. Salzburg and Upper Austria have the lowest unemployment rates of all Austrian federal states, which are also much lower than the national average.

San Antonio, TX

San Antonio has a diversified economy, ranking 4th among Texas metropolitan areas and 38th in the United States. San Antonio’s economy is focused primarily within military, health care, government civil service, financial services, oil and gas and tourism sectors. Within the past twenty years, San Antonio has become a significant location for American-based call centers and has added a significant manufacturing sector centered around automobiles. San Antonio is home to six Fortune 500 companies: Valero Energy Corp, Tesoro Corp, USAA, Clear Channel Communications, NuStar Energy and CST Brands, Inc. H-E-B, the 19th largest private company in the United States is also headquartered in San Antonio. Other companies headquartered in San Antonio are: Bill Miller Bar-B-Q Enterprises, Carenet Healthcare Services, Eye Care Centers of America, Frost Bank, Harte-Hanks, Kinetic Concepts, NewTek, Rackspace, Taco Cabana and Whataburger. Other large companies that operate regional headquarters in the city include: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Kohl’s, Allstate, Chase Bank, Philips, Wells Fargo, Toyota, Medtronic, Sysco, Caterpillar Inc., AT&T, West Corporation, Citigroup, Boeing, QVC, and Lockheed Martin.

San Diego, CA

The largest sectors of San Diego’s economy are defense/military, tourism, international trade, and research/manufacturing, respectively. The economy of San Diego is influenced by its deepwater port, which includes the only major submarine and shipbuilding yards on the West Coast. Several major national defense contractors were started and are headquartered in San Diego, including General Atomics, Cubic, and NASSCO. San Diego hosts the largest naval fleet in the world: it is home to 53 ships, over 120 tenant commands, and more than 35,000 sailors, soldiers, Department of Defense civilian employees and contractors. About 5 percent of all civilian jobs in the county are military-related, and 15,000 businesses in San Diego County rely on Department of Defense contracts.