Business Insights

One half of what is known as the “Twin Cities,” alongside the city of St. Paul, Minneapolis is the largest city in Minnesota and home to more than 400,000 people. The city is a vital link to the economy primarily because the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is the second-largest economic center in the Midwest after Chicago.

Little Rock is both the capital of Arkansas and the state’s biggest city, home to a population of nearly 200,000. Little Rock is known as a cultural, economic, governmental and transportation hub for Arkansas and the southern states in general. Recognized by Forbes as a great place to do business, Little Rock is a welcoming market for vendors to begin bidding on local government contracts.

As the capital and most populous city in Georgia, Atlanta is home to more than 400,000 residents. The city’s metropolitan area represents the 8^th largest economy in the United States and the 17^th largest in the world, raking in $304 billion. Considered an Alpha World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Atlanta is an important contributor to the global economy. In this article we’ll see how local vendors can find and bid on contracts with the city of Atlanta.

Named an ‘All American City’ four times by the National Civic League, the city of Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city and home to more than 40 percent of the state’s population. Anchorage enjoys a relatively stable economic climate and has not experienced the marked economic downturns that other U.S. states and cities have experienced during the most recent economic crisis. Transportation services, military, tourism and government are the largest economic sectors of economic activity in Anchorage making it an excellent place for businesses both big and small to do business with the public sector.

One of America’s famed music capitals, home of Soul, the Blues and Rock n’ Roll, Memphis is the youngest of Tennessee’s major cities. But with a population of over 650,000, it’s actually the largest city in the state and the third-largest in the Southeastern U.S. Memphis’ unique energy isn’t only found in the city’s music venues, however: vendors that are looking to find work with the City of Memphis can also find many contract opportunities, suited to businesses both large and small.

One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston has consistently been a world leader in innovation, education and entrepreneurship. With a population of over 650,000, Boston is the largest city in both Massachusetts and New England, and is the twenty-third largest city in the nation. Also home to America’s first public school, today Boston serves 57,000 students in 145 schools and is home to some of the country’s top colleges and universities.

With a population of over 600,000, Washington D.C. is the twenty-second largest city in the United States. Every week, hundreds of thousands of people commute from Maryland and Virginia to the city for work, swelling Washington D.C.’s population from Monday to Friday.

Charlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and second-largest in the Southeastern United States. With a population of 809,958, it is considered the third-fastest-growing city in the country and is America’s second-largest banking center. The Globalization and World Cities Research Network lists Charlotte as a “gamma-plus global city”, identifying Charlotte as an important contributor to the global economic system.

With a population of 684,451, Seattle is the largest city in both the state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The eighteenth largest city in the nation, Seattle was ranked as the fastest-growing city in the U.S. in 2013; today it remains in the top five. In the nineteenth century Seattle was known as America’s shipbuilding center and was one of the West coast’s few commercial hubs. During World War II the city evolved into a center for aircraft manufacturing partly thanks to the presence of the Boeing corporation and, by the 80s, Seattle became a technology center after Microsoft chose to build its headquarters in the city (followed by Amazon in the 90s). Thanks to progressive government policies and an ongoing effort to develop a green economy, Seattle is considered America’s number one “smarter city”.

Home to more than 800,000 residents, Jacksonville, Florida is the 12^th most populous city in the United States. Jacksonville is a consolidated city/county government integrated with Duval County; as a result, Jacksonville is technically the largest city by area in the U.S. at 874.3 square miles and boasts a metropolitan population of 1,573,606, the fourth largest in Florida after Miami, Tampa and Orlando.