Map courtesy of the Martin Prosperity Institute
Corporate headquarters are both heavily concentrated in and very specialized by region, according to a new analysis by Scott Pennington of the Martin Prosperity Institute.
Eighty-five percent of the headquarters of the largest companies in the U.S. and Canada are concentrated in a dozen or so mega-regions.
Two mega-regions – Chi-Pitts and Char-Lanta – account for almost half of all manufacturing headquarters. Chicago appears to have increased its hold on manufacturing headquarters, in effect pulling them in from other major cities in the mega-region.Not surprisingly, Hou-Orleans dominates in energy; and Nor-Cal is the center for high-tech headquarters.
Finance and insurance are more dispersed. While Bos-Wash accounts for 17 percent of finance and insurance headquarters, Char-Lanta and Tor-Buff-Chester also have significant clusters. These regions are also more diverse in the economic makeup – with significant concentrations of media and entertainment in Bos-Wash and Tor-Buff-Chester and of manufactuirng in Char-lanta – perhaps making their more resileint in coping with the fallout from the financial crisis.
June 10th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Fascinating link and information.
Back when my wife and I decided to relocate, we spent hours going through “Cities Ranked and Rated” and identified ten areas we’d be willing to live – and most of them were, were in, or were part of mega-areas. It was an eye-opening experience.
Now that a friend is going through the same experience, her choices are often reflective of ours.
Of course we’re all creative class types . . .
June 10th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Chi-Pitts, Tor-Buff-chester, Hou-Orleans? Come on, these names are horrid. You need to find a creative type to help you brand these mega regions with more appropriate names, ones that speak to the regional zeitgeist.
For example,
Chi-Pitts: Rustopia
Hou-Orleans: Humidistan or Petrolia
You get the drift.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
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