As the sun rises over the skyline of Dallas, a flurry of SUVs and pickup trucks passes by a relatively inconspicuous construction site that is pivotal to the city’s grand financial aspirations.
Situated amid the skyscrapers of Bank of America and JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs has secured 800,000 square feet for its upcoming campus in Dallas, which is designed to accommodate over 5,000 employees. However, this $700 million project represents more than just a regional growth strategy for one of the United States’ major financial institutions; it exemplifies a broader initiative by the city to position itself as a rival to New York’s financial dominance, often dubbed “Y’all Street.”
The financial workforce in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area has experienced remarkable growth, expanding by 40% over the past decade to reach 386,000 employees. Financial institutions and investment firms are increasingly drawn to Texas, not only due to its burgeoning fossil fuel industry but also because of its rising technology and artificial intelligence sectors. Attractive incentives, including substantial subsidies and accelerated business court processes, alongside the absence of corporate and income taxes, have further enhanced Texas’s appeal.
In the last year alone, a property tax exemption spanning ten years and $2.7 million in grants successfully persuaded Scotiabank, a Canadian financial institution, to move its operations from North Carolina, thereby creating 1,000 new jobs in Texas. Additionally, both the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have established branches in Dallas, eager to capture potential new listings.
Furthermore, a new Texas-based stock exchange (TXSE) is set to launch later this year, aiming to attract participants by offering more lenient listing criteria, which may resonate with executives who favor conservative business practices. This exchange has explicitly chosen not to enforce diversity requirements, a feature previously adopted by Nasdaq to promote gender and racial inclusivity in corporate governance. TXSE has even launched a marketing campaign targeting New York, symbolically depicting a Texas longhorn destroying the iconic Wall Street bull, with the tagline, “Welcome to the real bull market.”
Dallas’s commitment to attracting financial firms from New York is underscored by statements from Mayor Eric Johnson. “We are very serious about this endeavor,” he remarked, emphasizing that the current political landscape in the United States positions Dallas as a business-friendly alternative.
Johnson’s administration is actively reaching out to companies that may be deterred by what they perceive as progressive policies from New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani. He argues that proposals such as subsidized childcare, grocery programs, and a potential increase of 9.5% in property taxes could negatively impact businesses that play a vital role in employment. “Such policy discrepancies are prompting companies to consider locations like Dallas, where we are pursuing the opposite approach,” Johnson noted.
The city’s outreach efforts have intensified, with Johnson leading a ten-member delegation to New York this month to engage Wall Street executives and entice them to relocate. “Our office is actively communicating with companies nationwide about the possibility of moving their headquarters or expanding their operations here, and we intend to continue these efforts,” he added.
Even cities like London, which traditionally worry about losing business to New York, may face a new competitor in Dallas. Mike Rosa, a senior vice-president at the Dallas Regional Chamber, mentioned, “We engage internationally and converse with global corporations. The prospect of an international bank relocating its headquarters to Dallas is very plausible, as is the establishment of Dallas as a strategic hub for these institutions.” He asserted that Dallas possesses the necessary attributes to enhance its international presence.
The rationale behind this appeal includes proximity to significant corporate clients and major technology firms, which have increasingly relocated to Texas.
Throughout the 2020s, Texas has outpaced California, becoming the state with the highest number of NYSE-listed companies and Fortune 500 headquarters in the nation. Notable relocations include Oracle, which moved from Silicon Valley to Austin in 2020, and several businesses owned by Elon Musk, including Tesla, X, and SpaceX, which have all made the shift from California. Recently, ExxonMobil also announced its decision to relocate its headquarters from New Jersey to Texas.
The population of the Dallas-Fort Worth area has surged, now ranking as the fastest-growing among the 385 metropolitan regions in the United States since 2010, reaching a total of 8.5 million residents.
Cullum Clark, an economist at the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, remarked, “The significant trend has been people relocating from various parts of the United States.” This shift comes as cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco experience declines in population. Clark noted that there appears to be a correlation between political preferences and migration patterns, with conservative individuals moving away from liberal states.
Beyond political dynamics, businesses are discovering that recruiting talent has become easier. Aasem Khalil, head of Goldman Sachs’s Dallas office, recalls a conversation with the company’s CEO, David Solomon, in 2016, urging him to transition his career and family to a then-relatively small office in Dallas. Once a lifelong New Yorker, Khalil initially found the move puzzling, as he had previously viewed Dallas merely as a transient location for meetings.
However, Dallas has proven to be well-connected, serving as a strategic hub for businesses targeting Latin America. The availability of direct flights to diverse destinations, from Fargo, North Dakota, to Seoul, has facilitated global business travel. The increasing demand for financial professionals has led institutions like Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas to produce graduates equipped to join firms such as Goldman Sachs.
Ultimately, Khalil concluded, “Not everyone aspires to reside in New York,” noting that it can be a challenging environment to navigate, even for affluent bankers. “For many individuals, Dallas offers a more appealing alternative.”
