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Greater Phoenix
A top hub in the nation for the finance & insurance industry
Greater Phoenix is a top market in the nation to locate, relocate or expand your finance and insurance business operations. In fact, the region’s finance and insurance sector is one of the largest in the nation.
Contents
Overview
Greater Phoenix is exceptionally positioned to absorb both new-to-market finance and insurance companies, and expansion of the existing cluster.
Value Proposition
Arizona offers specialized programs at universities across the state to train top talent. The state provides University alignment and partnerships to match talent to employers.
Greater Phoenix offers consistent and reliable internet and power coverage. With new freeways and rail to connect workforce and companies efficiently as well as access to a leading domestic and international airport, this region was designed for finance business relocation success.
In addition to affordable real estate and benefit costs to peer markets, Greater Phoenix also provides a number of quality insurance company relocation incentives to further decrease your business’s operating costs.
Arizona offers a highly specialized workforce for the finance and insurance industries. The workforce in greater Phoenix enables firms to locate important cybersecurity, fraud, and analysis divisions in the market.
Greater Phoenix is the sixth largest finance & insurance cluster in the United States, indicating a higher industry concentration and specialization. The region also has the largest location quotient of any top-20 finance & insurance market.
Talent Pipeline
Greater Phoenix boasts competitive non-distance program completions at colleges and universities in the concentrations of accounting, finance, economics, mathematics and customer service related degrees.
Greater Phoenix Talent Pipeline
Arizona’s institutions of higher education are training the finance and insurance workforce of the future via innovative partnerships and high-quality programs. Whether you are a start-up or just looking to relocate your finance and insurance company to greater Phoenix, the region offers easy hiring thanks to a quality workforce pipeline while also driving additional talent to the region due to the excellent quality of life Arizona offers. More information about Arizona’s talent pipeline is below.
Notable Programs in Finance and Insurance - Related Fields
Arizona State University
Enrollment: 74,878
Arizona State University (ASU) is committed to partnering with corporate, education and government organizations to produce a high-quality workforce. ASU has more than 13,000 students enrolled in its highly-regarded W. P. Carey School of Business.
University of Arizona
Total Enrollment: 40,254
Located in Tucson, University of Arizona (UArizona) offers a variety of programs that are significant to finance and insurance employers, including finance and accounting. UArizona enrolls more than 7,000 future professionals at its well-known Eller College of Management.
Northern Arizona University
Total Enrollment: 29,592
Located in Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University (NAU) offers a wide range of undergraduate degrees and minors across the W. A. Franke College of Business, including accounting and finance.
Competitive Programs
In a competitor markets’ talent pipeline analysis, Greater Phoenix has become one of the top finance and insurance cities and pulled ahead of popular cities like Salt Lake City and Charlotte in total degree completions for finance and insurance-related programs.
- Arizona State University has been named the #1 Most Innovative School in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 by U.S. News & World Report as well as the top 1% of the world’s most prestigious universities by Time of Higher Education. ASU was also ranked #5 for best-qualified graduates by the Wall Street Journal and #6 online MBA program in the nation by U.s. news & World report.
- The University of Arizona was named the #4 Management Information System program by U.S. News and #7 MS in Cybersecurity by Cyber Degrees. UofA was also ranked #10 in entrepreneurship by U.S. News & World Report while they also ranked the university #21 for Undergraduate Business Program in the nation.
Industry Ecosystem
Greater Phoenix is a top market by employment in this sector and has strong numbers to reinforce that statement. This market demonstrates competitive advantages for finance and insurance in non-workforce dimensions, especially in comparing operating costs.
Arizona Ecosystem
The Greater Phoenix region is home to a number of companies producing disruptive technology in the finance and insurance space. The region is able to support local startups and recent transplants which has resulted in an increase of finance company relocation to Greater Phoenix.
Location Quotient or LQ is a measure of market specialization in an industry by comparing the share of that market’s employment in an industry to the national proportion of that industry’s employment. For example, Phoenix’s LQ of 1.74 indicates that the market has 71% higher concentration of the finance and insurance cluster than the nation as a whole.
FinTech Sandbox
Following the example set by the United Kingdom, on March 22, 2018 Arizona became the first state in the U.S. to create a Regulatory Sandbox Program (RSP) where financial services companies can test innovative products and technology in market for up to 24 months without obtaining a license or other authorizations that might otherwise be required.
House Bill 2434, written by the Office of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and signed by Governor Doug Ducey, encourages the development of emerging industries like fintech, blockchain and cryptocurrencies throughout the state.
Three things to know about the Sandbox Program
- Loans and transactionsSandbox participants may make consumer lender loans (up to $15,000 per individual loan and $50,000 per consumer) or provide products or services as a money transmitter (up to $2,500 per transaction and $25,000 per consumer).
- Arizona user base capped at 10,000User base for fintech product is capped at 10,000 customers. However, the attorney general may allow companies in the sandbox to transact with up to 17,500 customers if the company is financially solvent and has proper risk management protocols in place.
- Limitless participantsThere is no limit on the number of participants in the sandbox at any one time. The program ends on July 1, 2028.
Finance Operations in Greater Phoenix
Greater Phoenix is home to a dynamic and growing finance and insurance cluster. Many of the finance sector’s leading firms have a significant presence in Greater Phoenix.
Insurance Operations in Greater Phoenix
In the last five years, GPEC has helped numerous market leaders, including the three below, expand their footprint in Greater Phoenix. These companies have added nearly 11,000 jobs to the region, helping grow the dense cluster that exists today.
Labor Analysis
Greater Phoenix has a robust supply of human capital to ensure all available positions are filled quickly with top talent making the region very attractive to relocate or start your finance and insurance company.
Labor Costs
Median wages in Greater Phoenix are generally lower than peer markets like Charlotte, Columbus, and Dallas. Below is a table of median wages across peer markets for relevant occupations.
Scroll to the side to see how Greater Phoenix stacks up against other cities in terms of median wages for finance and insurance operations.
Occupation | Phoenix | Charlotte | Columbus | Dallas | Salt Lake City |
Customer service representatives | $34,783 | $36,501 | $35,262 | $35,992 | $34,420 |
General and Operations Managers | $92,252 | $112,765 | $102,134 | $108,886 | $72,922 |
Office Clerks, General | $36,826 | $ 33,365 | $36,763 | $34,791 | $33,684 |
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | $54,714 | $57,108 | $56,343 | $58,453 | $53,076 |
Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | $ 100,276 | $102,414 | $97,132 | $109,557 | $105,567 |
Accountants and Auditors | $70,880 | $78,004 | $71,115 | $77,266 | $64,584 |
Insurance Sales Agents | $54,545 | $56,683 | $52,396 | $69,727 | $39,416 |
Management Analysts | $77,153 | $94,333 | $80,855 | $86,635 | $68,633 |
Financial Managers | $115,080 | $149,878 | $126,581 | $143,143 | $105,914 |
Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators | $58,989 | $65,488 | $59,878 | $68,110 | $52,428 |
Computer Systems Analysts | $90,509 | $94,525 | $89,159 | $94,065 | $74,217 |
Operating Costs and Statutory Incentives
Greater Phoenix has the lowest annual operating cost for finance and insurance operations among competitor markets. Even with the highly competitive tax environment in Greater Phoenix and Arizona, there exist several tax incentives that can be utilized to mitigate operating costs.
The Annual Business Operating Cost Analysis has been prepared using the following parameters as an estimate for finance operations in competitor markets. Component and custom analyses to match your company’s operations can be provided upon request.
Assumptions – Finance
- $10,000,000 personal property investment
- 100,000 square foot Central Business District Office, Lease
- Utilities (per month): Included in Lease
Occupations | Employment |
Customer Service Representatives | 100 |
Financial Analysts | 100 |
Software Developers, Applications | 35 |
Information Security Analysts | 25 |
Loan Officers | 25 |
Credit Analysts | 25 |
Web Developers | 15 |
Office Clerks,General | 10 |
Network & Computer Systems Administrators | 5 |
Human Resources Specialists | 5 |
Computer & Information Systems Managers | 3 |
General & Operations Managers | 2 |
Total | 350 |
Statutory Incentives
This document and report is only a guide for potential incentives. Actual incentives will depend on actual project parameters, and varying program qualifications and requirements as determined by the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Quality Jobs Tax Credit
The Quality Jobs Tax Credit program awards $9,000 of tax credits over three years for qualifying companies. The chart below highlights minimum qualifying capital expenditure and wage rate within an urban area, while the texts describe additional program parameters.
Quality of Life
Greater Phoenix offers residents unlimited recreational activities, a robust restaurant industry with flavors from around the world, day and night activities for the family, outdoor fun and so much more.
Parks and Recreation
Greater Phoenix is home to hundreds of parks and hundreds of miles of hiking, biking and walking trails. The Greater Phoenix region is home to the largest municipal park in the United States, South Mountain Park. South Mountain Park covers more than 16,000 acres. Other large parks in the region include the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak, and the Superstition Mountains. Notable walking trails in the region include the canal system, Tempe Town Lake, the Greenbelt and Papago Park.
Cost of Living
When you choose to relocate to Greater Phoenix, you do not have to give up your career in Finance and Insurance. The region is a leader in the industry, offering growth opportunities for both employers and employees. Use the calculator below to see some of the potential savings you could see if you chose to relocate to Greater Phoenix while still working in Finance and Insurance.
Annual Income
Monthly Mortgage
Monthly Healthcare
Monthly Groceries
Companies in Greater Phoenix
- Aetna
- Allstate
- American Express
- Bank of America
- Charles Schwab
- Chase Bank
- Discover
- Edward Jones
- Humana
- Liberty Mutual
- Nationwide
- Progressive
- State Farm
- United Healthcare
- Vanguard
- Wells Fargo
Want to see a full list of companies in Greater Phoenix? Download the complete report.