- Florida experienced an 86 percent increase in corporations moving their headquarters into the state compared to those relocating their head offices out of Florida, leading the nation.
- Three cities in Florida, namely Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami, were among the top 10 cities in America for corporate headquarters relocation.
- Ken Griffin, the founder of Citadel, one of America’s most valuable hedge-fund firms, announced the relocation of his company from Chicago to Miami last June due to Florida’s favorable tax structure and business-friendly environment.
Florida experienced the highest percentage of corporations relocating their headquarters to the state in America, according to data compiled by Hire A Helper from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Florida had 86 percent more corporations move their headquarters into the state compared to the number of companies that chose to move their head office out of Florida, leading the nation, per the report.
Broken down by city, three cities in Florida are among the 10 with the highest net gains: Jacksonville (+67 percent), Tampa (+49 percent), and Miami (+33 percent).
According to the most recent figures, 8.9 percent of the approximately 6,700 publicly traded corporations in America moved their HQs in the past fiscal year (March 2022-March 2023).
Alongside Florida, Texas and Arizona attracted the highest number of corporate migrations, while Washington, New York, and California experienced the highest rates of headquarters abandonment.
Florida gained one of America’s most valuable companies last June when Ken Griffin, Illinois’ richest person and the founder of industry-leading investment firm Citadel, announced that he is relocating his company from Chicago to Miami, citing a more business-friendly atmosphere.
In a memo sent to employees, Griffin noted that Florida harbors a better corporate environment due to its favorable tax structure and lack of an income tax. The move is expected to be a multi-year process and will necessitate the construction of a new office building in the downtown Miami neighborhood of Brickell.
Citadel is one of the most successful hedge-fund firms, overseeing $51 billion in assets and regularly outpacing competitors and the market, making a swift recovery following the 2008 recession.
Griffin’s enterprise is estimated to be valued at $5 billion. Last January, Citadel Securities agreed to take its first outside investment in a deal valuing the electronic-trading operation at around $22 billion, a move seen at the time as a potential precursor to an initial public offering of the business, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal.