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Value Proposition
Greater Phoenix offers significantly lower costs of living with an abundance of craft breweries and coffee houses throughout the region and more than 300 days of sunshine annually.
This region offers access to a leading domestic and international airport, fast internet connectivity, low risk of natural disasters and a robust network of data centers, which creates consistent and reliable power coverage to any software and IT business looking to start or relocate to Greater Phoenix.
In addition to cheaper real estate and benefit costs compared to peer markets, Greater Phoenix also provides a number of quality incentives to further decrease your business’s operating costs even more.
Through university alignment and partnerships, there are plenty of highly qualified college graduates to hire at your software and IT business. Specialized programs at universities across the state train the top talent the country has to offer. Arizona has also seen a growing number of coding schools and bootcamps.
Greater Phoenix cultivates a welcoming tech-focused community backed by dynamic firms. The region is home to a growing number of local technology startups as well as large software and IT offices of Fortune 500 firms.
Greater Phoenix Talent Pipeline
Below are the total number of non-distance program completions at colleges and universities in Greater Phoenix for computer engineering, information technology, computer and software engineering, and computer science. The region produced over 2,700 graduates in these fields during the 2017 to 2018 school year. Greater Phoenix’s universities are committed to supplying the workforce needed to enable companies to scale in the region. Comparison data for peer markets has been provided below. Data was adjusted for the population sizes of the markets.
Software Degrees in Western Regions
Notable Programs in Software & IT - Related Fields
National Operations in Greater Phoenix
Many leading national software and IT companies have substantial operations in Greater Phoenix. Below is a sample of some national companies that have a presence in the region.
Phoenix-Based Firms
Greater Phoenix is home to a dynamic and growing software ecosystem. In addition to many national leaders operating in the region, several software and IT companies are headquartered here.
The Annual Business Operating Cost Analysis has been prepared using the following parameters as an estimate for software and IT operations in competitor markets. Component and custom analysis to match your company’s operations can be provided upon request.
Assumptions
- $500,000 personal property investment
- 10,000 square foot Central Business District
- Utilities (per month): Included in Lease
- 50 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics equivalent occupations)
| Occupations | Employment |
| Software Developers, Applications | 15 |
| Web Developers | 15 |
| Software Developers, Systems Software | 10 |
| Computer Network Architects | 5 |
| Computer & Information Systems Managers | 2 |
| Computer Network Support Specialists | 2 |
| General & Operations Managers | 1 |
| Total | 50 |
Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of all incentives available within the state of Arizona. Additionally, this information serves as a guide for potential incentives that depend on project parameters and program requirements.
Arizona Tax Environment vs. Competitor Markets
Arizona has a very competitive tax and fringe/mandated benefits environment compared to other major software and IT markets.
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 in an urban area, while the texts describe additional program parameters.
R&D Tax Credit
- Refundable and nonrefundable corporate income tax credits for qualified research and development done in Arizona, including company funded research at a state university
- Credit amount is 24% of first $2.5 million in qualifying expenses plus 15% of the qualifying expenses in excess of $2.5 million
- Qualifying small companies (less than 150 FTE) can apply to make their credit refundable (75% of nonrefundable credit value). A company can receive up to $2.0M in refundable credits per year
