Imagine if you could approach investing in cities with the same strategies used in stock market trading.
American cities operate with striking parallels to corporations — they offer a suite of “services” to their “shareholders” (the residents), they have “revenue streams” from various taxes and funding and their “market value” fluctuates based on economic health and governance. Unlike companies, however, cities aren’t up for public investment. But what if they were?
The Stock Dork recently ran a survey of 3,000 investors to create a “City Confidence Index.” It asked respondents, “If cities were publicly traded on stock exchanges, which would you most want to invest in?”
While none of the Top 10 were in New Jersey, four were included in the rankings:
- Jersey City (No. 20);
- Trenton (No. 21);
- Newark (No. 27); and
- Camden (No. 240).
The Top 10 were as follows:
1. Jacksonville, Florida;
2. Fort Lauderdale, Florida;
3. Boston;
4. Albany, New York;
5. Coral Springs, Florida;
6. Santa Barbara, California;
7. Boynton Beach, Florida;
8. Providence, Rhode Island;
9. Tucson, Arizona;
10. Columbus, Ohio.
