Economy

The City That Businesses Are Fleeing

Sean Pavone / iStock via Getty Images

A great deal has been made about the relocation of millions of Americans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people moved because they could work from home. Others moved because they wanted to live in cities less expensive than those they left. Still, others moved for lifestyle reasons. Less well understood is the movement of entire companies. These movements showed that certain cities were the target of corporation migration. None was hurt more than Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to Harvard and MIT, two of the most highly rated universities in America. (These are the 50 best college towns in America.)
[in-text-ad]
Hire A Helper’s “2023 Study: Corporate Relocation at Highest Rate Since 2017” report showed that about 9% of American companies have changed their headquarters locations since the start of 2022. About one-fifth of relocations were within the same city. About a third moved to another city within the state where they were previously located.

The researchers offered a theory about Cambridge’s problem: “This famous college town next to Boston, MA has long been a mecca for many biotech and pharma firms, which seemingly doesn’t leave room for previous industry giants.” Throughout the period 2022 to 2023, the net headquarters movement of Cambridge was −40%, when companies that left were compared to companies that moved to the city.


Financial statement data sets published by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission were the source of most of the data for the study. The yardstick used was changed based on the term “business address.”


Here are the top 10 cities where outbound movement topped inbound movement on a percentage basis:
  • Cambridge, Mass. (−40.0%)
  • Seattle, Wash. (−37.5%)
  • San Jose, Calif. (−25.0%)
  • San Francisco, Calif. (−21.9%)
  • Chicago, Ill. (−20.0%)
  • Miami Beach, Fla. (−17.4%)
  • Fremont, Calif. (−16.7%)
  • Greenwood Village, Colo. (−16.7%)
  • Menlo Park, Calif. (−16.7%)
  • Santa Monica, Calif. (−16.3%)

The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today (Sponsor)

The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.

 

Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

1 https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.

AI Portfolio

Discover Our Top AI Stocks

Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.

You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.