Economic Development

Albuquerque is the urban center of New Mexico and one of America’s best small cities. The 32^nd largest city in the country, Albuquerque is rich in potential and its economy is emerging with strength in healthcare, research, technology, aerospace, energy, film, and advanced business services.

Albuquerque is a top city to start, expand or relocate a business and offers a skilled workforce and a business-friendly environment. Companies like Netflix, NBC Universal, LSI, RiskSense, Carenet, and many others have selected Albuquerque because it is a great place to do business and provides an affordable and excellent quality of life. Albuquerque welcomes businesses of all sizes and types, from start up’s to expansions and relocations of global businesses.

We have an economic development plan that will deliver real impact for Albuquerque. Our strategies provide benefits to both businesses and the people of Albuquerque. For businesses, we are supporting new enterprise creation, industry cluster development/support, and strategic attraction and recruitment of businesses that align with our priorities. For the people of Albuquerque, we are prioritizing quality job growth, employee and workforce development, and are making a concerted effort to reverse disinvestment in underserved communities and neighborhoods while ensuring equitable opportunities for everyone in our city.

Our approach focuses on the following areas:

1. Increment of One - We can create jobs one, two, three, ten at a time. Business expansion and workforce development are key to the economic development plan. By partnering with local universities and colleges, the City of Albuquerque provides incentives and resources, to support a ready and highly skilled workforce that meets the demands of employers and helps businesses scale up.
2. Buy Local – This is a two-fold initiative that both encourages the community to make conscious decisions to support locally-owned business, as well as internally the City is using its purchasing power to ensure local businesses are the providers of goods and services for the City - bringing back millions of tax dollars currently sent to out-of-town vendors into Albuquerque’s economy. Shopping and doing business locally means keeping our money in the community resulting in a major positive impact on the economy.
3. Smart Recruitment, Retention, and Expansion - We are focused on recruiting companies from specific industries that build on Albuquerque’s existing assets. We support new enterprise creation, cluster development, and strategic attraction and recruitment of businesses that align with and complement existing strengths.
4. Creative Economy and Film – Albuquerque offers a unique culture, cuisine, art, and music scene. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong and an inherent part of Albuquerque's culture. The creative economy and film industry are key components of the economic vitality in Albuquerque.
5. International Business - We are capitalizing on our unique placement along two major interstates, with an international airport and a foreign trade zone while also promoting Albuquerque as a strategic location for foreign small to medium-sized enterprises for our local companies.
6. Placemaking - Mayor Keller believes “the measure of any great City is how people and places are connected.” The City’s Economic Development Department is connecting new development projects with existing development projects and existing activity hubs, and using placemaking tools and strategies to develop connectivity as well as engaging with communities to drive economic growth and development.

Working with Albuquerque area Chambers of Commerce, Albuquerque Economic Development and other community partners, we are developing Albuquerque’s economy by applying an integrated, community-oriented approach using an equity lens to create jobs, ignite innovation, and foster economic development in order to create an economy that works for everyone.