According to KPMG's Competitive Alternatives 2012 study, the Quebec City metropolitan region ranks first among Canadian and US cities with populations of 500,000 to 2 million inhabitants. It ranks second worldwide in this same category, just behind Marseille, France and ahead of Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Raleigh, North Carolina and Austin, Texas.
KPMG's study provides an independent comparative analysis of operating costs in more than 103 cities in nine countries with mature markets (US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Japan and Australia).
Overall, it is 5.8% cheaper on average to set up operations and do business in Quebec City compared with US cities. For an R&D firm (biotechnology, clinical trials, electronic systems development), the advantage is even more pronounced, with costs 13.8% to 20.5% lower on average than in US cities for companies in this category. In the areas of digital entertainment and software development, the advantages are 23.4% and 12.4% respectively, while the financial services sector has an advantage of 21.4%. Quebec City also ranks favourably in the following sectors: telecommunications equipment (4.6%), pharmaceutical products (4.3%), medical devices (4.2%), electronic products (3.9%), specialized chemical products (3.5%) and precision parts (2.9%).
Disregarding population size, Quebec City still fares well, ranking ninth worldwide and sixth nationally, edging out Montreal (seventh place) and Winnipeg (eighth place).
About Quebec International (QI)
QI contributes to the Quebec City region's economic development and international standing. As the pre-eminent regional economic development agency, Quebec International fosters business growth, supports key economic clusters and attracts talent and investment. For further information, please visit www.quebecinternational.ca.
