NAPLES, Fla. — With its fancy shops, palm-tree-lined streets, and white sandy beaches, Naples has a world-class reputation.
Those amenities that have made it a beacon for tourism and retirement could help Naples attract more businesses to relocate, according to a recent report from the site selection firm The Boyd Company.
“Executives around the globe know about Naples. They have colleagues or peers or associates or friends that own a second home in Naples,” said John Boyd, Principal of the Boyd Company, which specializes in corporate site selection.
The Boyd Company released a list showing, what they call, the top 30 post-pandemic corporate headquarter cities.
All 30 cities are sub-markets, they’re smaller than major hubs like New York or Chicago, but with lower taxes and attractive amenities.
The belief is that the “new normal” workforce won’t rely on a downtown corporate headquarters.
Instead, many of these sub-markets, Boyd says, will attract businesses looking for a decentralized hub.
“Those qualitative advantages that Southwest Florida, that Naples, brings to the table have enormous site selection value,” said Boyd.
Naples is joined by seven other Florida cities, including Ponte Vedra which was ranked the best market in Florida.
“Often times it's quality of life overall. It’s not just sunshine and beaches, it’s also the quality of our schools, the ability to have easy access to recreation,” said Michael Dalby, CEO of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce.
One aspect that hurts Florida’s chances of landing some companies, according to Boyd, is the state’s ongoing property insurance crisis.
Florida residents pay nearly three times the national average, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
“These California based companies might be leery of moving to Florida. They want somewhere a little closer that doesn’t have this insurance crisis,” said Boyd, who put Minden, NV as the top market out west for corporate relocation.
The quality of life has changed Naples' workforce in another way, the city has one of the highest rates of remote workers in the country.
In 2021, the chamber launched a program to recruit more remote workers to Naples.
“What we’d like to see happen is those workers come here and they like being here, eventually some of them might start their own businesses,” said Dalby. “And that helps our economics.”
