Join the 6th-largest U.S. Finance & Insurance Cluster in Greater Phoenix
Greater Phoenix is one of the top markets in the nation to locate and expand finance and insurance operations. In fact, the region’s finance and insurance cluster is the sixth-largest in the nation. Between competitive operating costs, a robust workforce and a large existing cluster, Greater Phoenix boasts the perfect environment for your financial services business.
Finance & Insurance Industry Report
Get our 27-page, in-depth report on the finance and insurance ecosystem in Greater Phoenix.
Robust Workforce
Greater Phoenix offers a highly specialized workforce for the finance and insurance industries, which enables firms to locate important cybersecurity, fraud and analysis divisions in the market.
Competitive Operating Costs
In addition to affordable real estate compared to peer markets, Greater Phoenix also provides a number of quality relocation incentives to further decrease your business’ operating costs.Â
Exceptional Talent Pipeline
Specialized programs at universities across the state train top talent. Arizona provides university alignment and partnerships to match talent to employers.Â
Large Existing Cluster
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.Â
Economic Development Programs
Even with the highly competitive tax environment in Greater Phoenix and Arizona, there are several tax incentives that can be utilized to mitigate operating costs. Â
Quality of Life
With the significantly lower cost of living across all major expenditures, Greater Phoenix also offers shorter commute times for more free time and more than 300 days of sunshine annually.
Robust Workforce
Specialized Finance & Insurance Workforce
Greater Phoenix offers a competitive work environment with a robust supply of human capital to ensure positions of all levels and in all departments of finance and insurance are filled quickly. With dedicated university programs and a large existing cluster, new to market and growing industry leaders in finance and insurance are sure to find success in the region. Â Â
Insurtech & Insurance Leaders
Greater Phoenix’s fast-growing insurance cluster is home to 580 companies providing over 53,000 jobs and is made up of critical business units for some of America’s leading companies. Provided below is a sample of the region’s largest insurance operations. To get access to the complete list, download the industry report.
| Company |
Employees |
|---|---|
State Farm Insurance |
8,922 |
UnitedHealth Group |
4,694 |
Aetna Medicaid |
2,273 |
Cigna Healthcare of Arizona |
2,040 |
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona |
1,849 |
Nationwide Insurance |
1,436 |
Liberty Mutual Insurance |
1,398 |
Allstate Insurance |
1,383 |
Farmers Insurance |
1,295 |
American Family Insurance |
1,029 |
Progressive Insurance Corp |
885 |
Source: MAG 2020 Employer Database
74%
Greater Phoenix has 74% higher concentration of finance and insurance businesses than the nation as a whole
Source: Lightcast 2021 Q1
1700+
1,700+ students earn degrees in accounting, finance, economics, mathematics & consumer relations from universities in Greater Phoenix each year
Source: Lightcast 2021 Q1
$34.5B
$34.5 billion globally was invested in fintech startups in 2019, up 30% from 2018
Source: CB Insights
Download the full industry analysis for more on the finance and insurance workforce.
Competitive Operating Costs
Keep Costs Down in Greater Phoenix
Greater Phoenix provides a strong value proposition for finance and insurance operations, with lower operating costs and a larger labor pool than many of its peer markets. When compared to markets like Charlotte and Dallas, Greater Phoenix has significantly lower labor costs. Compared to Salt Lake City, Greater Phoenix is competitive on cost while offering a labor pool that is three times larger.
Annual Operating Cost Analysis – Insurance Office
| Metro |
Payroll |
Benefits |
Real Estate |
Property Tax |
Total Operating Cost |
Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phoenix |
$23,179,753 |
$5,201,859 |
$2,892,000 |
$215,100 |
$31,488,712 |
100.0% |
Charlotte |
$23,802,808 |
$5,376,414 |
$2,087,000 |
$0 |
$31,266,222 |
99.3% |
Columbus |
$23,335,664 |
$5,235,949 |
$3,147,000 |
$122,300 |
$31,840,913 |
101.1% |
Dallas-Fort Worth |
$24,532,242 |
$5,549,424 |
$3,779,000 |
$96,500 |
$33,957,166 |
107.8% |
Salt Lake City |
$25,288,574 |
$5,704,171 |
$2,800,000 |
$270,288 |
$34,063,033 |
108.2% |
Assumptions: $10,000,000 personal property investment, 100,000 square foot Central Business District Office, Lease, Utilities (per month): Included in Lease, 350 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics equivalent occupations)
Annual Operating Cost and Total Industry Jobs
Source: Applied Economics Metrocomp Tool, November 2021; Lightcast 2021 Q4 Data Set
Download the industry report for a cost analysis on finance.
Exceptional Talent Pipeline
Innovative Finance and Insurance Training Programs
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 startup or are 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 State University (ASU)
ASU has been named the No. 1 Most Innovative School by U.S. News & World Report every year since 2015 and has been ranked in the top 1% of the world’s most prestigious universities by Times Higher Education. ASU is committed to partnering with corporate firms, educational institutions and government organizations to produce a high-quality workforce. ASU has more than 13,500 students enrolled in its highly regarded W.P. Carey School of Business.
University of Arizona (UArizona)
With its primary campus in Tucson, Arizona and secondary campus in Phoenix, UArizona offers a variety of programs significant to finance and insurance employers such as finance, accounting and management. UArizona’s highly-regarded Eller College of Management enrolls more than 7,000 future professionals annually. Named the No. 4 Management Information System program by U.S. News and No. 7 MS in Cybersecurity by Cyber Degrees, UArizona provides top talent to local fintech and insurtech companies.
Large Existing Cluster
Greater Phoenix is home to a number of companies producing disruptive technology in the finance and insurance space. The region can support both startups and transplants, which has led to a number of fintech and insurtech companies moving to the region to join the numerous leading firms that have a significant presence.
Finance Leaders in Greater Phoenix
Insurance Leaders in Greater Phoenix
Sector Growth
From 2016-2021, GPEC helped numerous market leaders relocate to or expand their footprint in Greater Phoenix. These six companies are among the recent movers that added a total of nearly 11,000 jobs to the region.
Economic Development Programs
Fintech Sandbox
In March 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. The sandbox encourages the development of emerging industries like fintech, blockchain and cryptocurrencies throughout the state.
More information can be found here.
Quality Jobs Tax Credit
The Quality Jobs Tax Credit program awards $9,000 of corporate income tax credits per net new hire, spread over a three-year period for qualifying companies.
8.6%
Average sales tax rate
Source: Applied Economics Metrocomp Tool, November 2021
4.9%
average corporate income tax rate
Source: Applied Economics Metrocomp Tool, November 2021
$1.05
workers comp. rate (per $100 payroll)
Source: Applied Economics Metrocomp Tool, November 2021
Download the full industry analysis for more incentives and program details.
Quality of Life
Greater Phoenix Lifestyle
Experience a vibrant lifestyle and diverse culture at an affordable cost of living.
Enjoy the outdoors with more than 300 days of sunshine, average temperatures of 75 degrees, convenient access to over 400 hiking trails and globally recognized sporting events. Take part in a vibrant arts and culture scene that includes prominent classical arts to public art to craft markets and a diverse range of music and cultural events. And, eat well with fresh farmers markets in every city, and globally recognized chefs and culinary experiences at your doorstep.
Calculate Your Cost of Living Savings in Greater Phoenix
Select your annual income, monthly mortgage, healthcare and grocery costs to find how much you would save with a move to Greater Phoenix.
Austin
Dallas
Denver
Los Angeles
Portland
San Francisco
Seattle
Annual Income
Monthly Mortgage
Monthly Healthcare
Monthly Groceries
Total Annual Savings
$
Source: ACCRA, Cost of Living Index 2022 Q1
