photo credit: Tennessee Department of Tourism Development

Perched on the Chickasaw Bluffs above one of the world’s greatest rivers, Memphis occupies the Southwest corner of the great state of Tennessee. Bordered by Arkansas and Mississippi, Memphis’ diverse population is fueling the drive into the 21st century.

The Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area, or MSA, is made up of eight counties in three states: Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The city of Memphis is located on the banks of the Mississippi River in Shelby County, Tenn. Tipton and Fayette counties are also in Tennessee. Meanwhile, DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, and Tunica counties are in northwest Mississippi and Crittenden County in eastern Arkansas.

The Memphis region offers plenty of advantages from plenty of perspectives. Memphis is the nation's 17th largest city and the second largest in the Southeast. Memphis has a metro population of over 1 million people, ranking 41st nationally. And the Memphis MSA ranks 41st out of 276 U.S. MSA’s by size by population. In 2004 the Memphis metro area's economy, measured by GDP, was larger than 12 states and 123 nations.

Expansion Management magazine's 2005 list of the "50 Hottest Cities" for relocating or expanding companies ranked Memphis 16th in the nation. What’s more, the city of Memphis was ranked the fourth most efficiently operated city in a comprehensive national study of 44 major U.S. cities by national think tank Reason Public Policy Institute for five consecutive years.

For these and other reasons, Memphis is home to four Fortune 500 headquarters and a $2.3 billion tourism industry with the third largest casino cluster in the nation. In fact, 23 major companies moved to Memphis in 2005, bringing over 1,800 new jobs, utilizing 1.8 million square feet of space and investing nearly $50 million. Altogether there were 153 major projects announced in 2005 creating 9,588 new jobs and occupying over 12.5 million square feet of industrial and office space.

Unique educational opportunities are also key to the Memphis region’s prosperity. Christian Brothers University is one of the few colleges in the country that offers a master’s degree in telecommunications management. The school's Center for Telecommunications and Information Systems is one of the top training and research facilities in the Mid-South region. It’s not surprising, then, that the region is home to more than 30,000 telecommunications workers.

The Memphis region's strong transportation, logistics and communications infrastructure provides the access and doorway to the global economy. Within the super region, Memphis has the largest concentration of transportation facilities of any region. Memphis also boasts the world's largest air cargo airport, the third largest rail center in the country, and the fourth largest inland port in the U.S. And the city already known as "America's Distribution Center" is fast becoming "North America's Logistics Center."

In terms of quality of life and culture, Memphis ranks sixth in the nation in the number of properties on the National Register of Historic Places and has more historic listings per capita than any city in America. Memphis is, of course, the home of the Blues and the Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll. There is more live music in this city than in many communities twice its size.

For more information about the Memphis Region, call the Memphis Chamber 901.543.3523, send e-mail to adaniels@memphischamber.com or visit www.memphischamber.com.