Seattle declined in a new ranking of the best places in the U.S. to attract foreign businesses and investment, drawing fresh concern and criticism in the ongoing debate about the business climate in both the city and Washington state.
The fifth annual list compiled by British newspaper Financial Times and stock market index Nikkei ranks Seattle 13th among 95 U.S. cities — a drop of 11 places from last year’s second-place position.
The ranking measures cities across more than three dozen metrics that FT-Nikkei call important to foreign investors, including energy resilience, trade war resilience, workforce and talent, openness, business environment, foreign business needs, quality of life, and investment trends. (See more on the methodology here.)
Seattle’s average score was 62 out of 100. No. 1-ranked Boston jumped 10 spots with a score of 73.
Seattle scored 65 last year to jump eight spots to No. 2 on a list that clearly has some yearly fluctuation. This year, the city dropped slightly in a number of categories, but its score actually rose in investment trends, a category that looks at how much foreign and domestic investment a city attracted in 2025, as well as its annual GDP per capita.
The report and Seattle’s place on it managed to send another shock wave — at least on LinkedIn — through a tech community that has been up in arms of late over Seattle’s perceived anti-business image.
Kirby Winfield, founder of Seattle venture capital firm Ascend, shared the graphics on LinkedIn showing Seattle’s slide and said, “As a Seattle native it kills me to see reports like this.”
The reactions in comments on Winfield’s post were varied, with some questioning “fuzzy” measurement definitions and weightings in the rankings. Others shrugged off any list that could rank New York (28) and San Francisco (33) so far down.
But a familiar tone was present among those who say Seattle and the state are inviting this kind of ranking with policies that are pushing business and tech leaders out.
“I have never seen a city government so hostile to business, especially small businesses,” wrote tech vet Charlie Anthe.
“Seattle’s drop is not random,” wrote Michael Hatch, a private wealth manager. “It is the result of years of policy decisions that have made it harder for businesses, large and small, to function here — the cumulative weight of new city taxes, a minimum wage at the top of the national range, and a level of street-level chaos no business can absorb.”
Some mentioned moving out of Washington to places like Dallas or New York, echoing a trend that has seen other prominent entrepreneurs decamp in recent years: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos moved to Miami; former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz also went to Miami; and Expedia and Zillow co-founder Rich Barton just left for Las Vegas.
While Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson took heat in April for offering a literal hand-wave and saying “bye” to wealthy residents threatening to leave, some in the comments on Winfield’s post this week expressed a desire to rally the community and fix what needs fixing.
“Seattle’s innovation changed the world. From the devices we use daily, to how we shop, and communicate,” wrote startup founder Curtis Crimmins. “The kneecapping of this culture has been swift and cruel. I’m obsessed with how we get it back, and I’ll do anything to help us get there.”
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