Why is it that tech entrepreneurs have been flocking to Phoenix to launch their businesses? In 2012, there were 67 tech companies in downtown Phoenix. Today there are more than 275. As California grows crowded and more expensive, the number of tech startups calling the Phoenix Desert home, has skyrocketed in recent years.
Companies the likes of Uber, Yelp, and Shutterfly have recently opened offices in Phoenix, helping drive the number of tech jobs in the city up by 18.6% between 2010 and 2015. Thanks to elected officials like Mayor of Phoenix Greg Stanton and public institutions like Arizona State University, efforts to put Phoenix on the map have not gone unnoticed.
Arizona State University has played a major role in the city’s tech boom. Shortly after building a campus in downtown Phoenix, it was ranked the No. 1 innovative university in the country, two years in a row.
As Mayor Staton put it “I want Phoenix to be a leader in the startup world. Phoenix has the secret sauce, and one of the things in that secret sauce is our diverse population.»
Simultaneously, residential construction and commercial development have picked up with over 5,000 apartment units entering the market over the next three years. Drawn in by Phoenix’s expanding population, business-friendly climate, and comparatively inexpensive real estate, the number of workers relocating to the Phoenix Metro Area from more expensive cities has steadily been increasing, As Stanton and other city officials pointed out.
“When you bring these thought leaders and these ideas into downtown Phoenix, you bring in tech companies and leading-edge companies who want access to that workforce,” said Christine Mackay, director of the Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department.
The Thunderbird School of Global Management, an institution that also calls Phoenix home, and #1 school for International Business according to Bloomberg Businessweek, 2012, shares these eye-opening facts and figures that put the Valley of the Sun head to head with Silicon Valley.
With all this in consideration, it is not hard to see why Phoenix is one of the top markets in North America for developing technology firms (CBRE).
By Raul Guevara, MXP Real Estate