Gulf Coast area cheaper to run a business; Most expensive in California

   The fracking revolution generated a boom in several regions the USA, and a small area near the Texas-Louisiana border is one of the biggest beneficiaries.

Lake Charles, Louisiana and Port Arthur, Texas, home to some of the largest natural gas refineries of the country, are two of the fastest growing metropolitan areas. They are located in states with low taxes and a light regulatory climate, and both are blessed with cheap and abundant near the Gulf Coast, where refineries continue to expand and add workers land.

Not surprisingly, these metropolitan areas are No. 1 and No. 2 on the list of the least expensive places in the USA to operate a business, according to the private company's economic-forecast IHS Global Insight.

The region of Port Arthur comes in at just 85.9 cost index scale business enterprise. Lake Charles is not far behind at 86.8. The level 100 represents the average USA.

The use of fracking has unlocked vast reservoirs of untapped oil and natural gas on American soil ranging from Pennsylvania to North Dakota and Colorado to West Texas. The fuel is being sent to the Gulf Coast for processing and transportation to other parts of the country and beyond.

Other metropolitan areas that make the IHS list of cheap places to do business include Akron, Ohio.; Sioux City, Iowa; and the cities of Tennessee Knoxville, Memphis and Chattanooga.

"The least expensive subways tend to be located in the Midwest and South, where lower than average and cheaper real estate business costs help reduce wages for companies", its second report.

At the other end of the spectrum, Honolulu tops the list of most expensive metropolitan areas to run a business. The peaks at 145.9 Hawaian city in IHS index, making it almost twice as expensive as Port Charles or Port Arthur.

Other expensive regions that make the list are no surprise: Boston, New York and Washington, DC
The most expensive state to do business is California, with five metropolitan areas making the top 10 IHS Los Angeles and the region just slightly west of the city, stretching from Ventura to Oxnard, were the most expensive regions in the eighth and ninth United States, while San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose were higher in the list. The most populous state of the United States also has one of the highest tax burdens, along with an expensive housing market.

"These metropolitan areas tend to have higher than -Average wages and high real estate prices and energy," IHS said. "Restrictions of high population density and land also contribute to the costs of doing business in these meters."

   

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