Location
65 cities and 30 states are represented on the 2006 Inner City 100.
Most Represented Cities:
Most Represented States:
- California - 12
- New York - 10
- Massachusetts - 6
Texas - 6 - Colorado - 5
Maryland - 5
Michigan - 5
Missouri - 5
Pennsylvania - 5
Primary Reasons for Selecting Inner City Location:
- 47% - Commitment to city / community
- 36% - Low cost of real estate
- 34% - Access to downtown / customers
- 33% - Access to workforce
Advantages of Inner City Location:
46% of respondents said that access/proximity to transportation nodes was a main advantage of their inner city location, while 42% cited proximity to downtown and customers as a main advantage. 37% of CEOs viewed the diversity of the local workforce as important, and 35% pointed to having an available local workforce as a major advantage.
Disadvantages of Inner City Location:
36% of CEOs said that a main competitive disadvantage of their inner city location was in recruiting qualified employees, while 35% cited the perception of crime as a fundamental disadvantage (as opposed to 13% who reported actual crime as a problem). 25% reported regulations and tax issues as disadvantages while the availability of land/real estate and the cost of land/real estate were each cited as negatives by 22% of CEOs.
Role of Government:
60% of companies report being involved in federal, state or local public sector programs. 43% report being in a federal HUBZone or a state/municipal Enterprise Zone, 30% got tax credits for creating jobs, and 23% received training grants for their workforce.
In rating business relations with city government, CEOs reported a mixed experience. On a scale of 1 to 7 (1 = good, 7 = bad), cities scored above average for their public business resource tools and for resolving business related disputes. However, governments got lower marks for their tax incentives and for their permit-granting processes.
More Inner City 100 Numbers:
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