States battle for Fortune 500 supremacy
The most recent edition of the Fortune 500 came out Monday with a number of states battling for recognition as the top home for private sector businesses in the nation.
California and New York each house 54 companies within the top 500 while Texas is home to 52. When the list expands to the Fortune 1000, Texas begins to show its might, with 103 companies on that list, the most of any state in the county.
This includes high-tech companies, such as Texas Instruments and AT&T, as well as global leaders — most notably Exxon Mobil, which is second on the list behind Wal-Mart — from a variety of industries, including manufacturing, energy and transportation.
“Our commitment to keeping taxes low, regulations reasonable, courts fair and schools accountable has helped produce an economic climate where businesses of any size can grow and thrive,” Texas Gov. Rick Perry said. “This is more evidence that the Texas way of doing business helps create jobs and opportunity for families.”
Texas is the only state to have three of the top ten companies in the Fortune 500. Also, Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Texas produce more sales revenue and grow at a faster rate than those in any other state.
According to the Fortune report, Texas gained two Fortune 1000 companies from 2013, and remained steady in the Fortune 500 ranking.
Texas’ economic climate, ranked the best in the nation by Chief Executive Magazine for 10 years running, continues to attract employers from across the country and around the world. Last month, Toyota announced it is moving its North American headquarters to Plano. Additionally, Prudential Financial announced it will create 300 jobs in El Paso.
Vance Ginn, an economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told Breitbart Texas: “The [state’s] economy as a whole is blossoming — there are more Fortune 500 companies moving to Texas than anywhere else in the nation. The Texas model of low taxes, modest government spending, and stable regulations creates an environment where businesses have incentives to move to the state.”
While Texas led the list in the 2000s, California has been No. 1 since 2010. Texas has ranked No. 2 the last two years, but New York is more of a serious contender in recent years with a list that’s top-heavy with companies from the financial sector.
Technology companies continue to dominate California’s list as could be expected. But, the Golden State will be losing a couple of companies next year: Safeway is merging with Idaho-based Albertsons and Occidental Petroleum is moving to Houston.
