Houston overtakes Miami as best place for foreign businesses in annual FT-Nikkei ranking
Texas cities dominate top 10 amid surge of foreign investment in auto and tech sectors
Houston has taken the top slot as the best US city for foreign multinationals to do business in the second annual ranking compiled by the Financial Times and Nikkei. It gained the top spot by offering business friendly policies, excellent logistics, affordable cost of living, and a diverse community for overseas companies. To learn more about how Houston finished on top, read our winner’s profile here.
The FT-Nikkei Investing in America ranking showcases the top US cities for international business. The ranking measures cities across more than four dozen metrics important to foreign investors. Explore the full list below with our interactive tool — you can adjust the weightings to produce a customised ranking that better reflects your priorities.
Generate and share your own ranking by modifying the weights in the categories below.
USE SLIDES TO CUSTOMIZE RANKING
CATEGORIES
FT-Nikkei ranking
WEIGHT
USE SLIDES TO CUSTOMIZE RANKING
CATEGORIES
FT-Nikkei ranking
WEIGHT
Workforce and talent This category looks at the quality of the local workforce and ease of hiring. It considers working-age population, education levels, unemployment rate, proximity to universities, and hiring laws.
Workforce and talent
20
20
Openness This category looks at how welcoming US cities are to overseas talent, including racial diversity and size of foreign-born population.
Openness
10
10
Business environment This category looks at the cost and ease of doing business, including taxes, incentives, and operational costs. It also considers climate risk and state and local business retention and expansion policies.
Business environment
18
18
Foreign business needs This category looks at how well cities are suited to accommodate foreign business. It considers the number of international flights, proximity to shipping ports, internet connectivity, and local government support for foreign investors.
Foreign business needs
18
18
Quality of life This category looks at the safety and affordability of US cities. It also considers commute time, walkability, school quality, and options for leisure.
Quality of life
15
15
Investment trends This category looks at how much cities secured in foreign and direct investment in 2022, as well as their annual gross domestic product per capita.
Investment trends
15
15
Aftercare This category looks at the degree of administrative support cities offer to foreign companies once they make an investment decision.
Aftercare
4
4
Methodology
We made a few changes to improve our ranking this year. This means there may be more than one reason that a city has changed position. Read our full methodology here.
