Top Ten Major Markets of the Decade
Each year in our SB&D 100, Southern Business & Development ranks states and markets in the South based on projects landed of 200 jobs or more and/ or $30 million in investment or more. Each state and market receives points based on the size of the project. The following are the top 10 major markets in the South in the last decade based on points earned in the annual SB&D 100 as well as a few selected and notable projects announced in each market over the last 10 years.
1. Dallas/Ft. Worth 1,590 Points
Notable Projects: Fort Worth: Blue Cross Blue Shield, CUNA, ATC, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, Q-Edge, Deloitte, Daimler Financial Services, Bell Helicopter, Fidelity Investments, Radio Shack. Dallas: AT&T, Research in Motion, FedEx Kinko's, Texas Instruments, Chase Bank, Hunt Consolidated, Home Depot, Textron and Comerica.
2. Baltimore/D.C./Northern Va. 1,335 Points
Notable Projects: Northern Virginia: Volkswagen, SAIC, Northrop Grumman, Pricewaterhousecoopers, Microsoft, AT&T, Capital One. Baltimore: Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Johns Hopkins, Howard Hughes Medical, Giant Food, MedImmune.
3. Charlotte 730 Points
Notable Projects: The Shaw Group, Microsoft, Toshiba, Electrolux, Apple, Lowe's, Nucor, BAE Systems, AREVA, Fluor, Siemens.
4. Houston 715 Points
Notable Projects: Conoco Phillips, BASF, Lockheed Martin, Fluor, BP, Hunton Energy/Dow, Walmart, Dow Chemical, Continental Airlines.
5. San Antonio 520 Points
Notable Projects: Toyota, Boeing, Microsoft, USAA, Lockheed Martin, Medtronic, Allstate, AT&T, Wells Fargo, Rackspace, Caterpillar.
6. Atlanta 490 Points
Notable Projects: NCR, First Data, Hewlett Packard, Newell Rubbermaid, Office Depot, Home Depot, GE, Coca-Cola, Scientific Atlanta, UPS.
7. Hampton Roads 490 Points
Notable Projects: Canon Virginia, AREVA Newport News, Continental AG, STIHL, Northrop Grumman, Verizon, Target, Nextel, Geico.
8. Memphis 435 Points
Notable Projects: Medtronic, Hewlett Packard, FedEx, St, Jude Hospital, Convergys, International Paper, AutoZone, Service Master, Barnes & Noble.
9. Orlando 395 Points
Notable Projects: Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Lockheed Martin, Darden Restaurants, Lowe's, JetBlue University, Crystal Photonics, Siemens, FiServ.
10. Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater 385 Points
Notable Projects: Cox Target Media, H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Nielson Media Research, Progressive, Merck, Raymond James, Home Depot.
10. Austin 385 Points
Notable Projects: Facebook, LegalZoom, Samsung, Dell, Accenture, Oracle, Intel, AMD, Home Depot, Cabela's.