JULY 2023 Volume 68 • Number 4 July 2023 siteselection.com SITE SELECTION 57 AMERICA’S BEST COUNTIES The inaugural edition of a new ranking finds a Northwest Ohio county No. 1 per capita and a North Texas county No. 1 overall among the nation’s 3,142 counties and county equivalents. t COVER STORY VOLUME 68, NUMBER 4 July 2023 THE MAGAZINE OF CORPORATE REAL ESTATE STRATEGY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT t FEATURES 23 CYBERSECURITY Is AI the solution to the nation’s shortage of cybersecurity workers? 28 AEROSPACE French aerospace companies and others announce projects and products at the Paris Air Show. 34 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT North Carolina is set to amplify soft skills in K-12 education, and businesses will benefit. 40 ADVANCED MANUFACTURING A conversation with Micron’s corporate vice president of front-end U.S. expansion. 45 SMART CITIES How today’s site selectors evaluate smart locations for investment. 48 RURAL ADVANTAGE Why small towns are today’s go-to destinations for new capital investment. 65 RESEARCH & SCIENCE PARKS Is your research park structured to meet today’s diverse set of challenges? 70 STARTUP & INNOVATION HUBS Silicon Valley stays No. 1 in the new ranking of the world’s top Global Startup Ecosystems from Startup Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network. 91 2023 SUSTAINABILITY RANKINGS Site Selection’s unique and far-reaching index has determined the top countries, U.S. states and U.S. metro areas for sustainability. SITE SELECTION JULY 2023 3 ▼ INTERNATIONAL UPDATE 14 ASIA The ASEAN-6 region is fl ush with digital sandboxes, investors and startup accelerators. 16 WORLDREPORTS Moderna expands in Kenya and the Philippines; Intel invests in Poland and Germany; Saudi Arabia lands the world’s largest green hydrogen production facility; Malaysia adds to its digital hub portfolio. 18 NORTH AMERICAN REPORTS A molecular innovation center for Philadelphia’s Navy Yard; more EV investment in Georgia; a Florida space base lands a key Air Force training center hands down. 20 ATLANTIC CANADA Can a region rich in digital innovation overcome a shortage of talent? FOLLOW US! siteselection.com ▼ INVESTMENT PROFILES 26 PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS 38 MARYLAND 76 WASHINGTON, D.C. 98 ULTRAPARK DEVELOPMENT GROUP, COSTA RICA ▼ DEPARTMENTS 4 EDITOR’S VIEW: Who’s Winning — and Losing — Corporate Headquarters 135 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS 6 IAMC INSIDER: A letter from the chair; good news and bad news on the DEI front. UPSTATE SC ALLIANCE INTELLIGENCE REPORT 79 100 LOUISIANA Ascension Parish is turning into a magnet for clean energy projects. 113 NEW JERSEY Clean room expertise and resources are among this state’s life sciences advantages. 120 OKLAHOMA The Sooner State is building back better. The Tulsa metro is a case in point. 125 WEST VIRGINIA A former pill factory in Morgantown welcomes three life sciences tenants. 129 WISCONSIN How the Badger State’s EV industry can be a key player in the global supply chain. 132 MAINE This state’s off shore wind industry is a key component of its clean energy strategy. ▼ AREA SPOTLIGHTSS ome fascinating analysis of corporate relocation activity appeared in my inbox just as we were completing work on this issue. It’s called the 2023 Study: Corporate Relocation at Highest Rate Since 2017, and it’s from HireAHelper.com, a website for finding movers, including those who specialize in corporate relocations, and a top source for moving industry pricing data and statistics. Based on Securities and Exchange Commission filings, HireAHelper determined that 593 U.S. corporations — about 9% — moved their headquarters since the beginning of 2022, which is the highest rate since 2017. Additional findings: • 29% more companies moved their HQs in 2022-23 than in the previous fiscal year. • 20% of corporate relocations happened within the same city; 31% moved to a different city within the same state. • 62% of corporations moved to a city with a smaller population. • 72% of people would be prepared to move with their employer, provided relocation costs were covered. • Almost half (44%) of survey respondents would be willing to follow their employer to a different state. Where are they going, and which locations are they leaving? Florida (+86%) and Texas (+71%) are the states with the greatest net gain of corporate headquarters in the past year. Washington (-83%) registered the highest net loss of corporate HQs since the start of 2022. Waltham (+175%) and Burlington (+133%), Massachusetts, and Spring, Texas (+100%) had the most corporate move-ins, compared to the number of those moving out. Cambridge, Massachusetts (-40%), Seattle, Washington (-37%), and San Jose, California (-25%) are the cities with the largest net losses of corporate HQs in the past year. “It was surprising to see Washington atop the list of net-loss states, with 83% more companies leaving it than moving in,” HireAHelper’s Chief Data Analyst Miranda Marquit told me. “Known as a hotbed for startups with a robust venture community, and a high-tech workforce, it seems to have hit an inflection point. Office-moving trends appear to be relatively similar to individual people’s moving trends, in the sense that people are leaving bigger cities for less densely populated areas.” That’s an observation you’ll come across in the America’s Best Counties cover story and Rural Advantage feature in this issue. Other highlights are a Q&A with the Micron executive heading the chip maker’s massive investments in New York and Idaho and how one state is tackling the challenge of incorporating soft skills into K-12 education. Great summer reading here. Till next time, Mark Arend, Editor in Chief EDITOR’S VIEW 4 JULY 2023 SITE SELECTION MEMBER Site Selection (ISSN: 1080-7799) (USPS ), July 2023, volume 68 number 4. Published six times a year in January, March, May, July, September and November by Conway Data, Inc., 6625 The Corners Parkway, Suite 200, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 USA. Periodical postage paid at Peachtree Corners, Georgia, and additional mailing offices. 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However, the in formation is not war ranted, and neither Conway Data, Inc., nor the Industrial Asset Management Council, assumes any liability or responsibility for actual, consequential or incidental damages re sulting from inaccurate or erroneous information. Site Selection incorporates Industrial Development. PHONE: (770) 446-6996 FAX: (770) 263-8825 TOLL FREE: (800) 554-5686 EMAIL: editor@conway.com WEB: www.siteselection.com Who’s Winning — and Losing — Corporate HeadquartersNext >