Atlanta was ranked No. 1 tech hub in the U.S. by Business Facilities magazine, but perhaps an even more promising indicator of its status as a rising global player was buried in the site-selection title’s annual report.
The city placed No. 8 in the rankings of global startup ecosystems, placing just behind London and just ahead of Berlin, outpacing Austin (No. 100 and trailing only San Francisco and New York (the top two global centers, respectively) in the United States.
Atlanta was also the No. 4 cyber city, No. 7 for data centers, the No. 4 fintech leader and No. 4 for best business climate among large cities. Fulton County ranked No. 8 for food processing, while Georgia ranked No. 4 in that sector among states.
The state had a strong showing overall in the magazine’s 17th annual rankings. Among states, it had the No. 7 business climate, ranked No. 9 for aerospace and defense, fourth for customized training (trailing Louisiana, Virginia and Alabama) and seventh for cybersecurity. It was also ninth in installed solar-energy capacity.
Perhaps disappointingly for a state pushing electric vehicles and drawing hundreds of car suppliers, especially from abroad, Georgia did not crack the top-10 on automotive manufacturing.
But it did place in the recruitment of foreign direct investment, ranking No. 8 in projects and No. 5 in capital investment from overseas.
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