Almost 500 companies relocated their U.S. headquarters between 2018 and 2023, with nearly half of those corporations deciding Texas is the best place to call home.
There were 465 corporate headquarters relocated over the past six years with the top reasons listed for the moves being business climate and lower taxes, according to a report published this month by commercial real estate brokerage CBRE. With 209 relocations, it found, Texas had the most companies move to the state in that time.
During the six years, the most company moves took place in 2021 and have since edged lower, signaling a potential slowdown in corporate headquarters relocations. One reason behind the slowdown could be that higher capital costs have made it harder for companies to sell or sublease office space, according to CBRE.
Austin, Texas, had more corporate headquarters relocate than any other city in the country with 66 moves, half of which were tech companies. Some of the most notable company moves to Austin included Oracle and Tesla, which both relocated from California.
A headquarters move from Silicon Valley to Austin can save a company between 15% and 20% in tech employee wages, CBRE said.
Most moves were tied directly to cost savings, with companies moving to states with lower costs of living and lower or no state income tax. Business leaders are expanding what they consider to be important factors behind a relocation to another city to include the prospective new area's regulatory policies, crime, homelessness and other social factors, and health department policies, including vaccine requirements, according to CBRE.
CBRE, the world's largest property brokerage by revenue relocated its headquarters from Los Angeles to Dallas in 2020 in what it called a cost-savings move.