The Texas city of Dallas has become a financial boom with large corporations flocking to the southern city.
The downtown skyline has changed dramatically in recent times, with Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Charles Schwab now controlling significant real estate holdings in the city.
Investors and financiers who moved to Dallas from the East and West Coasts have pointed to several competitive advantages the area has.
With lower housing costs, space to build new offices and the area is also close to one of the largest airports in the country.
Executives also appreciate the state’s low taxes, low regulation for businesses and others say The Wall Street Journal They find him more friendly and accessible.
The downtown skyline has changed dramatically in recent times, with Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Charles Schwab now commanding significant real estate holdings in the city.
The site of Goldman Sachs Group’s new campus following a groundbreaking ceremony in Dallas, Texas, in 2023
Data shows that investment banking in Texas, as well as employment in the securities sector, has skyrocketed by 111 percent over the past twenty years.
It’s also up 27 percent since the pandemic, compared with 16 percent and 5 percent in New York.
The number of people employed in finance overall in Texas has increased 13 percent since 2019, compared to just two percent in New York and three percent nationally.
Dallas now also ranks second behind New York City among metropolitan areas in the number of workers employed in finance-related industries.
Other Sunbelt cities have also seen growth: Florida has seen a nearly 15 percent increase in the number of people employed in finance since 2019, according to the data.
While Charlotte, North Carolina, which is also home to Bank of America, has more than eight percent of its workforce in the financial sector.
This compares to Phoenix at 6.9 percent, Dallas at 6.8 percent and New York at 6.5 percent.
Aasem Khalil, a Goldman partner and New York native, told the outlet: “Dallasians want you to love Texas. People here don’t see success as a zero-sum game.”
Rebecca Kral, who moved to the area to work in financial communications, told the WSJ she was surprised how the conversations started with her personal work, rather than her job.
Last year, Goldman Sachs announced a $500 million campus spanning 800,000 square feet.
Ross Perot Jr., president of Hillwood Development Co LLC, from right, John Waldron, president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Eric Johnson, mayor of Dallas, during a groundbreaking ceremony for Goldman Sachs’ new campus in Dallas
He said that while work intensity is still present, people want a better work-life balance that encourages efficiency.
Kral added: “It’s easier to tell a customer that I’m going to dinner with my kids and I’ll be back later.”
Ray Perryman, president of the Perryman Group, an economic research and analysis firm, told the… WSJ newspaper‘Wall Street remains the center of the investment universe, but Y’all Street is quickly gaining ground.’
JPMorgan Chase has more than 31,000 employees in Texas, more than its 28,300 employees in New York State.
In the southern state, about 12,700 employees currently work at a 50-acre site in the suburb of Plano.
The complex covers four buildings and spans 1.5 million square feet of office space, having doubled since opening in 2017.
Andy Rabin, who oversees the company’s investment banking in the Southwest, added: “You can do the work you would do in New York, but in a different place.”
Dallas now also ranks second behind New York City among metropolitan areas in the number of workers employed in finance-related industries.
Last year, Goldman Sachs announced a $500 million campus spanning 800,000 square feet.
Mayor Eric Johnson said his priority was to make the city the home of the new campus over other competing cities.
It offered about $18 million in grants and property tax abatements to secure the new building.
Money management firm Fisher Investments recently moved its headquarters from Washington to Plano.
The move came after the state Supreme Court upheld a new capital gains tax on its wealthiest residents to fund education programs.
Founder Ken Fisher said: “Texas is a mindset more than anything else. That mindset of futurism that says, ‘We have a problem, but we can fix it.'”
These companies have created well-paying jobs, and the Goldman deal has provided at least 5,000 jobs with an average salary of at least $116,000.
John Waldron, President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs, said: “We look forward to the vibrant future of Goldman Sachs in Dallas and are excited to continue partnering with the local community for many years to come.”