• Contact Us
• Request Information

• La Ciudad
  Home
• Why Choose The Phoenix
  Bioscience Cluster?
• How Does
  Phoenix Compare?
• Why Choose
  La Ciudad?
• What Are The Plans
  For La Ciudad?
• Why Is The Campus
  Called La Ciudad?

Why Bioscience Companies Choose Metropolitan Phoenix?

Top companies come to Phoenix because the market boasts one of the strongest combinations of attributes in the world:

• Sixth largest city in the United States provides a dynamic market for growth with a metropolitan population of 4.4 million.
• Young, educated population base, averaging 33 years old, is younger than the national average and supports business initiatives and recruitment, with 60% of the population having some college, and 28% of the population holding a bachelor’s degree or higher.
• Underutilized and talented labor pool is fed by over 300,000 current college students. Three Arizona public universities have a presence in Phoenix, with 9 private academic institutions offering undergraduate and graduate degrees, plus 17 other academic institutions. Phoenix has a total labor force over 2 million strong.
• Relatively low cost-of-living improves employee quality of life. Real estate is plentiful and affordable, and companies enjoy low operating costs due to low taxes and labor rates.
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is one of the 10 busiest airports in the world, with non-stop flights to every major US city.
• Phoenix bioscience cluster is very active and growing exponentially.
• Abundant energy supply and 100-year water supply offer long-term assurance.
• Unbeatable climate with 320 days of sunshine and notable absence of catastrophic weather and seismic activity that could impact operations.
• Undeniable quality of life with abundant outdoor activities including hiking, golf, and cycling, and close proximity to skiing and snow sports, plus major professional sports, arts and cultural venues, and legendary sunsets over surrounding mountain ranges.

Economic Incentives

Arizona has strategically created a strong economic incentives package to attract top bioscience companies into our growing bioscience cluster. Examples of some of the current incentive programs include, but are not limited to:

Program	Program Description
Quality Jobs Tax Credit Program	Tax credit = Up to $9,000 per qualified job
Renewable Energy Tax Incentive Program	Tax Credit (refundable) = Up to 10% of Total CapX Property Tax Reduction = 77% reduction of real & personal (if Total CapX > $25m)
Job Training Program	Training grant = 50%-75% of training costs
Arizona Competes Fund	Discretionary cash grant program
Qualified Facility Tax Credit Program	Tax credit (refundable) = Up to 10% of Total CapX for manufacturing, R&D, and HQs of manufacturing **NEW in 2013**
Sales Tax Exemption for Data Centers	Exemption of sales taxes for data centers
Source: CBRE Economic Incentives Group, 2014

Phoenix Tax Rates

Phoenix has comparably low tax rates which impact business and personal lives in a meaningful way. Current tax rates can be found at the City of Phoenix website and should be verified, but as of April 2014 are:

ST CODE	BUSINESS CLASSIFICATION	PHOENIX	STATE	COUNTY	COMBINED
15	Construction Contracting	2.000%	5.600%	0.700%	8.300%
13	Commercial Licensing of Real Property Commercial Rental, Leasing of Real Property	2.100% 2.100%		0.500%	2.100% 2.600%
14	Rental, Leasing of Tangible Personal Property Licensing of Tangible Personal Property	2.000% 2.000%	5.600%	0.700%
29/31	Use Tax	2.000%	5.600%		7.600%
Source: City of Phoenix, 2014

Bioscience Employment Changes by State (2007-2010)

While more current comprehensive data isn’t available, this state map shows Arizona’s strong shift into bioscience over the last decade, positioning the state – and the Phoenix bioscience cluster – to move into a lead role for the next iteration of growth companies in bioscience.

Source: Battelle/Bio State Bioscience Industry Development Report 2012