CEO Guide to Site Selection

#2

Florida

CEO Rank on Best & Worst States for Business

THE SUN IS SHINING

While Gov. Ron DeSantis’ bold moves in the past year often went against CDC guidelines and the national consensus, there’s a strong case that it has helped the state’s economy weather the storm. Florida ranked #2 in Chief Executive’s 2021 Best and Worst States for Business for its business-friendly policies. The Sunshine State has landed several notable projects in the past year.  IT consulting firm Synergy Technologiesis adding 300 new jobs with an expansion in Jacksonville. And Scotlynn USA, a logistics subsidiary of Canada-based Scotlynn Commodities, opened a new U.S. headquarters in FortMyers.

“Florida has reached a level of job growth only seen on four occasions in the past 30 years, despite concerning federal actions causing economic uncertainty. We are outpacing the nation because Florida is investing in real infrastructure, investing in workforce development and standing up for businesses. We will continue to work hard to keep Florida open, free and built for opportunity.”
Ron DeSantis
Governor

TAXES

0 %

top corporate income tax

# 0

on the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index ranking

EDUCATION

0 %

of students graduated high school in 2019

0 %

of adults age 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

0 %

RIGHT TO WORK STATE

Yes

QUALITY OF LIFE

# 0

POPULATION GROWTH

0 %

increase between 2010 and 2020

KEY INCENTIVES

Capital Investment Tax Credit (CITC): Offers an annual corporate income tax credit, for up to 20 years, for projects that create a minimum of 100 jobs and invest at least$25 million in eligible capital costs.

High Impact Performance Incentive: Offers a grant for projects in clean energy, life sciences, financial services, corporate headquarters and other sectors that invest $50 million and create 50 new jobs over a three-year period.

Research and Development Tax Credit: Offers a credit of up to 10 percent of the excess qualified research expenses.

Urban Job Tax Credit Program: Offers between $500 and $2,000 per qualified job for eligible businesses located in one of 13 designated urban areas.

Veterans Florida Business Training Grant: Offers matching grants of up to $8,000 per veteran employee trained in high-demand fields.

EDCs

Enterprise Florida
enterpriseflorida.com

Miami-Dade Beacon Council
beaconcouncil.com

Tampa Bay Economic Development Corporation
tampaedc.com

Orlando Economic Partnership
orlando.org

Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance
gflalliance.org

Business Development Board of Palm Beach County
www.bdb.org

Greater St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation
www.stpeteedc.com

HIGHLIGHTED PROGRAM OR INITIATIVE

The Rural Expansion Toolkit offers grant opportunities to rural communities in the state to assist their economic engagement and capacity building efforts. It consists ofgrant programs that include consulting, site preparedness, marketing and training.

BIG DEALS

  • Pfizer announced in February 2021 plans to open a global capacity hub in Tampa.
  • KPMG doubled its investment in its Orlando operations and announced 350 additional jobs in May 2021.
  • InnovaCare moves its headquarters from New York to Orlando in July 2021.
  • Grant Thornton established a center of excellence and created 60 new jobs in Orlando in July 2021.
  • Terran Orbital announced in September 2021 a $300 million investment and 2,100 new jobs at its Commercial Spacecraft and Constellation Facility in Merritt Island.
  • AI firm TheIncLab announced in October 2021 an expansion and 40 new jobs at its facility in Tampa.
  • Battery tech firm Microvast opened in November 2021 its new R&D facility and created 100 new jobs in in Orlando.

BIG COMPANIES

20 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in state, including:

  • Publix Super Markets
  • Jabil
  • Lennar
  • AutoNation
  • Fidelity National Financial
  • Carrier Global
  • Raymond James Financial
  • Darden Restaurants
  • Chewy
  • Ryder System

No 3: Florida

No. 3

Florida

Taxation and Regulations
Workforce Quality
Living Environment

Based on CEO Survey by ChiefExecutive.net

Key Metrics
Taxation and Regulations

  • State Corporate Income Tax Rate: 5.50%
  • Highest Personal Income Tax Rate: None

Workforce Quality

  • % with High School diploma or more: 85.2
  • % with Bachelor’s degree or more: 25.8
  • % with Advanced degree or more: 9.0
  • Patents per 100K: 16.06
  • % of Employed Represented by Unions: 6.9

Quality of Life

  • Hopsitals per 10K: 0.114
  • Elementary/Secondary Schools per 1000 people: 0.198
  • Violent Crimes per 100K: 694.76
Key Companies
    Office Depot Inc.

  • NextEra Energy, Inc.
  • Tech Data
  • Carnival Corp.
  • CSX
  • Jabil Circuit
  • World Fuel Services
Other Highlights
  • Florida moved back up to #3 after falling to #6 in 2010 — the Sunshine state was #3 in 2009 as well
  • Florida ranks 40th in state debt per capita with $2104

Sources:
TaxFoundation.org
Statemaster.com
Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education