Top Mid-Markets in the South 1993-2007

By Michael C. Randle

The South's mid-markets have found their own niche when it comes to locating industry. More and more corporations looking to locate in the South now prefer mid-markets and what they offer that is unique only to metros their size. Some projects are best suited for larger markets that have reached critical mass. Yet, more projects than ever are now perfect fits for metro areas that fall between the 250,000 and 750,000 range in population. That is our definition of a mid-market.

Mid-markets in the South have shed their secondary status by finding or creating their own identities. Many mid-markets in the South are using their innate resources, such as universities, location and readily available labor. Another reason mid-markets stand out compared to major markets is a critical factor. It costs less to operate a business in a mid-market when compared to larger metro areas.

As part of SB&D's 15th anniversary series, we are revealing the top markets over the last 15 years in all market size categories that we include in our annual SB&D 100 ranking. Those would be major markets (750,000-plus), mid-markets (250,000-750,000) and small markets (250,000 and below). The top 15 major markets will be ranked in the Winter 2007/2008 issue and the top small markets in the Spring 2008 edition. It should be noted that we base our 15-year rankings on points earned from the SB&D 100 from 1993 to 2007.

No. 1 - McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas - 420 Points -

More than anything, a strategic location for distribution and other sectors involved in trade with Mexico probably helped the McAllen MSA retain its No. 1 mid-market status over the last 15 years. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission also stood at the top of the mid-market category in deals turned when we published this ranking in our 10th anniversary issue in 2002.

McAllen is located in South Texas, just across the Rio Grande River from Reynosa, Mexico. One great location perk is that McAllen is just 75 miles from the beaches of South Padre Island.

No. 2 - Johnson City-Bristol-Kingsport, Tennessee - 370 Points

The Tri-Cities region of the Northeast Tennessee Valley also worked hard enough to keep its second-place spot in this ranking after 15 years. The Tri-Cities features an incredibly diverse economy where heavy and light manufacturing and the services sectors thrive. Not unlike McAllen, the Tri-Cities enjoy a very unique location advantage for locating business.

No. 3 - Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula, Mississippi - 340 Points

It's a three-peat. That's right, when we published our 10th anniversary edition, this is where the Mississippi coast stood in our ranking then. Devastated by Hurricane Katrina, this coastal port market is coming back.

No. 4 - Huntsville, Alabama - 310 Points

No mid-market made a bigger jump in this every-five-year ranking than did Huntsville. No mid-market in the South has been hotter than Huntsville in the last five years. It has been named "Mid-Market of the Year" in the South two out of the last three years and the year it didn't win it, Huntsville placed second.

No. 5 - El Paso, Texas - 300 Points

We don't know that much about El Paso because it is one of the few markets -- major, mid, or small -- that we haven't visited since 1993. But one thing we do know about El Paso. They turn the deals.

No. 6 - Knoxville, Tennessee - 280 Points

Like Huntsville, Knoxville has been moving up the list each and every year. Resources abound in Knoxville with the University of Tennessee and all of the research and development going on in nearby Oak Ridge. There's a lot of "Secret Squirrel" innovation coming out of Knoxville right now.

No. 7 - Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina. - 260 Points

This market has been a consistent performer in the mid-market division. Lots of diversity in industry types and a huge entry point with the massive container port in Charleston.

No. 8 - Columbia, South Carolina. - 250 Points

Columbia has done well of late, but most of its points in this ranking came from the mid-to-late 1990s. As far as a great place to live, Columbia has become that and the fact that it is another major university town doesn't go unnoticed by us.

No. 9 - Montgomery, Alabama - 210 Points

A late bloomer to make this list. Montgomery was cited first in the mid-market category like in 1994 and we didn't notice them again for about seven years. Since around 2001 or 2002, this has been a very hot market.

No. 10 - Mobile, Alabama - 190 Points

Like Montgomery, Mobile, Ala., has come on strong just in the last few years. In fact, other than Huntsville, Ala., Mobile may be the second-hottest mid-market in the entire South over the past three years. Can you say, ThyssenKrupp? That project is real and underway and we believe it will start out as the largest industrial project ever built in the U.S.

Top 15 Southern Mid-Markets in the Last 15 Years --
1993-2007