Top 10 Reasons To Do Business in Florida

Janet Ware | 9/24/2008

The right talent, right facilities and right attitude keep Florida’s innovation economy surging ahead.

Why come to Florida? Just ask the 18.3 million people who already call Florida home. Or the hundreds more who move in every day.

Many are drawn here by sun, sand and sparkling blue water. But they soon realize the added benefits of the state’s innovative spirit, ready workforce, business-friendly policies, global connectivity and exceptional quality of life.

Florida is simply a great place to live, work and do business. And while we’ve summed it up in 10 top reasons, we encourage you to read on and learn why you should consider creating, investing or expanding your business here.

1 Technology Leadership

For two years in a row, the publication Fierce Biotech has ranked Florida among the top five regions in the world for attracting biotech businesses. Since 2006, research institutes with names like Scripps, Burnham, Torrey Pines, SRI and Max Planck have found new homes in Florida, and they’re attracting the attention of other innovative companies looking to relocate or expand.

Chelsea Smartt, an assistant professor of entomology, studies disease-transmitting mosquitoes in a University of Florida laboratory. In 2007, public and private sector investments in research at 13 Florida universities rose by nearly $77 million to reach a total of more than $1.6 billion. [Photo courtesy of University of Florida]

With 22,052 high-tech companies employing 282,091 highly skilled workers, Florida leads the Southeast in technology-driven business. According to AeA Cyberstates 2008 report, Florida is 4th among all U.S. states for high-tech employment and 3rd for high-tech companies. In 2007, Florida exported more than $13.3 billion in high-tech goods and services, putting this state in the No. 3 position nationwide for high-tech exports. High-tech job growth here is highly concentrated in two sectors: engineering services and computer systems design and related services — no surprise given that Florida ranks among the top U.S. states for number of Science and Engineering Doctorates awarded.

Florida has a significant and growing presence in many cutting-edge economy sectors, including: Clean Energy, Life Sciences, Information Technology, Aviation and Aerospace and Homeland Security and Defense.

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