Calgary Economic Development - Cost of Business

Cost of Business
Relocate And Expand | Cost of Business

Calgary is among the most cost competitive cities in the world for the cost of establishing and operating a business.

The 2006 KPMG Competitive Alternatives study showed that Calgary has a 5.3% operating cost advantage over the United States. It is the third least expensive of major Canadian cities in which to do business and in comparison to large international cities outside Canada, Calgary comes in second place only to Singapore.

KPMG, an independent consulting firm released the results of its Competitive Alternatives study that compared the business costs in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Canada leads the G7 countries for low business costs, with a cost advantage of 5.5% over the United States. The study measures the combined impact of 27 significant cost components such as labour, taxes, and utility costs.

Location	Country	Index*	Rank**
Midwest
Albuquerque, NM	United States	99.6	13
Billings, MT	United States	97.7	8
Calgary, AB	Canada	94.7	4
Cedar Rapids, IA	United States	98.4	10
Cheyenne, WY	United States	96.4	5
Chicago, IL	United States	100.8	15
Colorado Springs, CO	United States	100.8	16
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	United States	101.2	18
Edmonton, AB	Canada	93.3	2
Houston, TX	United States	102.9	20
Lincoln, NE	United States	96.5	6
Milwaukee, WI	United States	98.5	11
Minneapolis, MN	United States	103.8	21
Oklahoma City, OK	United States	97.8	9
Phoenix, AZ	United States	101.1	17
Salt Lake City, UT	United States	99.6	14
Saskatoon, SK	Canada	92.8	1
Sioux Falls, SD	United States	97.1	7
St. Louis, MO	United States	101.9	19
Wichita, KS	United States	99.0	12
Winnipeg, MB	Canada	94.1	3

Pacific
Boise, ID	United States	99.2	4
Chilliwack, BC	Canada	94.0	1
Las Vegas, NV	United States	103.6	8
Portland, OR	United States	100.5	5
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA	United States	103.3	7
San Diego, CA	United States	103.2	6
San Jose, CA	United States	108.5	10
Seattle, WA	United States	104.4	9
Spokane, WA	United States	99.0	3
Vancouver, BC	Canada	96.9	2

New England/Atlantic
Boston, MA	United States	107.8	9
Burlington, VT	United States	101.2	6
Charlottetown, PE	Canada	91.7	2
Halifax, NS	Canada	92.2	3
Hartford, CT	United States	105.3	8
Lewiston, ME	United States	98.7	5
Moncton, NB	Canada	91.1	1
Providence, RI	United States	102.4	7
St. John's, NF	Canada	94.3	4

Northeast
Buffalo, NY	United States	100.9	14
Charleston, WV	United States	94.7	7
Detroit, MI	United States	102.7	15
Harrisburg, PA	United States	99.8	13
Indianapolis, IN	United States	96.6	10
Lexington, KY	United States	94.1	3
Lima, OH	United States	94.3	4
Montreal, QC	Canada	94.3	6
New York City, NY	United States	112.6	18
Newark, NJ	United States	107.7	17
Northern Virginia (Metro DC), VA	United States	99.8	12
Ottawa, ON	Canada	95.1	8
Philadelphia, PA	United States	102.8	16
Quebec City, QC	Canada	92.6	2
Saginaw, MI	United States	98.4	11
Sherbrooke, QC	Canada	90.1	1
Toronto, ON	Canada	96.5	9
Waterloo Region, ON	Canada	94.3	5

Southeast
Atlanta, GA	United States	96.4	5
Dothan, AL	United States	93.0	1
Greenville-Spartanburg, SC	United States	93.7	2
Jackson, MS	United States	95.0	3
Nashville, TN	United States	95.5	4
Raleigh, NC	United States	97.3	7
Tampa, FL	United States	96.5	6

Asia Pacific
Fukuoka	Japan	106.3	3
Hamamatsu	Japan	106.0	2
Yokohama	Japan	108.3	4
Singapore	Singapore	77.7	1

Continental Europe
Lyon	France	95.1	6
Montpellier	France	92.6	1
Mulhouse	France	93.0	3
Nantes	France	93.6	4
Paris	France	100.2	15
Poitiers	France	92.9	2
Chemnitz	Germany	103.5	16
Darmstadt	Germany	108.9	17
Frankfurt	Germany	109.7	18
Florence	Italy	99.3	14
Friuli Venezia Giulia Region	Italy	97.9	10
Livorno	Italy	97.9	11
Naples	Italy	96.7	8
Turin	Italy	98.4	12
Vicenza	Italy	98.9	13
Amsterdam Area	Netherlands	96.6	7
Brabant Stad	Netherlands	93.9	5
East Netherlands	Netherlands	96.7	9

United Kingdom
Barnsley	England	97.1	2
Derby	England	99.7	3
Leicester	England	99.7	4
Lincoln	England	96.4	1
London	England	109.1	8
Manchester	England	101.1	7
Northampton	England	100.1	5
Nottingham	England	100.8	6

*Business costs are expressed as an index, with the United States being assigned the baseline index of 100.0. A cost index less than 100 indicates lower costs than the US. A cost index greater than 100 indicates higher costs than the US. For example, an index number of 95.0 represents a 5.0% cost advantage relative to the United States.
**Rank among cities within the same region.

The Boyd Company's October 2004 study on operating costs revealed that Calgary had the lowest operating costs among 52 cities across North America. Particularly, it is the lowest cost city to operate a head office - lower by more than 35% compared to the most expensive city, San Francisco.

What It Costs To Operate A Corporate Office In Calgary

	Highest Cost U.S. City	Lowest Cost U.S. City		Lowest Overall City
	San Francisco, CA	Savannah, GA	Toronto, ON	Calgary, AB
	Metro Area	Metro Area	Metro Area	Metro Area

Nonexempt Labour
Weighted Average Weekly Earnings	$771	$602	$597	$553
Annual Base Payroll Costs	$14,032,200	$10,956,400	$10,865,400	$10,064,600
Fringe Benefits	$5,191,914	$4,053,868	$2,173,080	$2,012,920
Total Annual Labour Costs	$19,224,114	$15,010,268	$13,038,480	$12,077,520
Electric Power Costs	$110,016	$50,616	$49,626	$38,907
Office Rent Costs	$160,000	$910,000	$565,200	$602,880
Equipment Amortization Costs	$950,400	$950,400	$950,400	$950,400
Heating & Air Conditioning Costs	$87,543	$101,037	$89,404	$82,343
Corporate Travel Costs	$408,044	$240,357	$489,840	$394,811

Total Annual Geographically-Variable Operating Costs	$22,380,117	$17,262,678	$15,182,950	$14,146,861

The Boyd Company, Inc., provides independent site selection counsel to leading North American and overseas corporations. This highly specialized management consulting firm works globally on behalf of its site- seeking clients in a wide range of industries.