ATLANTA -- Atlanta is the least costly large U.S. city to do business, according to an independent study released this week by audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP.

“Companies looking to expand or relocate to a well-connected, world-class city can’t do better than Atlanta,” said Sam A. Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. “Not only do we have the lowest cost of doing business in the nation, but our international airport gives companies access to the world, our quality of life attracts top talent, and our location as the business capital of the Southeast means companies can operate at the nerve center of the fastest growing region in America.”

In its “Competitive Alternatives” study, KPMG said competitive labor costs along with favorable state-tax incentives contributed to Atlanta ranking as the least costly place to do business among 23 U.S. cities and locations with populations exceeding 1.5 million. It measured the combined impact of location-sensitive business costs such as labor, facility, transportation and utility costs, as well as income taxes.

The biannual study’s basis for comparison is the after-tax cost of startup and operation for 12 specific industries over a 10-year span. The study enables companies to perform a “quick scan” of jurisdictions to determine which can offer a cost-competitive business environment.

Atlanta had a cost index of 96.4, representing business costs 3.5 percent below the U.S. national average of 100.0, according to the study.

The full text of the 2006 study is available online at www.CompetitiveAlternatives.com.

Atlanta was also recently named by top site-selection magazine Expansion Management as the third hottest city in the nation for businesses to expand and relocate. And Chief Executive magazine recently named Georgia the fifth-best state in the country to do business.

Companies that recently relocated to Atlanta or built new operations here include: Honda Motor (a manufacturing plant), Novelis, Arby’s, Schneider National, Toyo Tire and Rubber Co., Nissan North America and Google.

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