New York, Boston, Miami or Chicago: where should a French startup open its first US office?

Half of our French clients open their first US office in New York. A lot of that choice comes from the movies we watched growing up.

The Founders who choose well ask six questions first. Where are my clients? What will my apartment cost? My office? Is there a French school for my kids? What will my employees pay in tax? What will the company pay?

The short answer: start with your clients. New York for finance, media and advertising. Boston for biotech, healthcare and cybersecurity. Chicago for manufacturing, food and consumer goods, logistics and insurance. Miami for Latin America, hospitality and logistics. Then the money: New York is the most expensive on almost every line. Chicago has the cheapest apartments and French school, and the highest state corporate tax. Miami has no income tax for your team and no full French school in the city. Boston sits in the middle, with a strong French-English school in Cambridge.

1. Where your clients are

	New York	Boston	Miami	Chicago
Fortune 500 headquarters in the metro (2026)	49	14	not published	30, second in the US
Strong sectors	Finance, media, advertising, fashion, fintech	Biotech, life sciences, healthcare, cybersecurity, robotics	Latin America headquarters, logistics, hospitality, fintech	Manufacturing, food and consumer goods, logistics and freight, insurance, trading
Examples	JPMorgan, Citi, Pfizer, Verizon	State Street, Vertex, Moderna, Thermo Fisher	Lennar, Ryder, Carnival	McDonald's, Abbott, Allstate, CME Group, ADM

If your buyers sit in one of these clusters, that city just moved to the top of your list. That's why some of our clients chose Chicago over the coasts.

2. What your apartment will cost

Monthly rent, Zumper, October and November 2026:

	New York	Boston	Miami	Chicago
2-bedroom, citywide median	5,470 dollars	3,500 dollars	3,220 dollars	2,520 dollars
Family neighborhoods, 2-bedroom / 3-bedroom average	Upper West Side 7,943 / 9,122; Park Slope 5,775 / 6,752	Back Bay 5,815 / 6,810; Cambridge 3,885 / 4,500; Brookline 3,500 / 4,750	Brickell 5,030 / 9,250; Coral Gables 3,600 / 6,742	Lincoln Park 3,950 / 5,247

A 3-bedroom on the Upper West Side costs about twice one in Lincoln Park.

3. What your office will cost

Asking rent per square foot per year, Cushman & Wakefield, Q3 2026:

	New York (Manhattan)	Boston	Miami	Chicago (downtown)
Overall	74 dollars	48 dollars (metro)	68 dollars	46 dollars
Class A	87 dollars, a record	Cambridge 78 dollars	75 dollars	57 dollars

4. A French school for your kids

	School	Grades	Tuition, 2026-27
New York	Lycée Français de New York	Nursery to 12th grade	51,925 dollars
New York area	French-American School of New York (Westchester)	Nursery to 12th grade	39,660 to 46,825 dollars
Boston	International School of Boston (Cambridge), French-English	Preschool to 12th grade	36,880 to 51,260 dollars
Chicago	Lycée Français de Chicago	Pre-K to 12th grade	28,925 to 29,500 dollars
Miami	École Franco-Américaine de Miami	Preschool to end of primary	not published

Miami is the only one of the four with no full French school from kindergarten to 12th grade inside the city. Families there use free public magnet programs with French tracks, or drive to Broward County. French families registered at the consulate can apply for French government school grants (bourses scolaires) everywhere.

5. What your employees pay in tax

State and city income tax, marginal rate around 200,000 dollars of income, 2026:

	New York City	Boston	Miami	Chicago
State	5.9%	5%	none	4.95%
City	3.876%	none	none	none
Total	about 9.8%	5%	0	4.95%

This matters when you hire. A 200,000 dollar base in Miami puts more in your seller's pocket than the same base anywhere else on this list. That helps you close the candidate.

6. What the company pays

	New York City	Boston	Miami	Chicago
State corporate income tax	6.5% (7.25% above 5 million dollars of income)	8%	5.5%	9.5% (7% plus a 2.5% replacement tax)
City business tax	8.85% on top	none	none	none today; a 25 dollar per employee per month tax for firms over 125 staff is proposed, and pending
Unemployment tax, new employer	4.1% of the first 17,600 dollars	2.42% of the first 15,000 dollars	2.7% of the first 7,000 dollars	3.35% of the first 14,250 dollars
Other payroll	NYC transit tax once quarterly payroll passes 312,500 dollars	Paid leave contribution, 0.42% for the employer from 25 staff	none	none

New York stacks a city corporate tax on the state one. Florida is the lightest on every line.

What your sellers will cost

The TrackRec salary guide puts New York, Boston and Chicago in the same top pay tier: about 341,000 dollars of OTE for a mid-market Account Executive with five years of experience. Miami sits one tier lower, at about 293,000 dollars. Same seat, about 14% cheaper.

Getting back to Paris

	New York	Boston	Miami	Chicago
Time difference with Paris	6 hours	6 hours	6 hours	7 hours
Nonstop to Paris	Up to 11 Air France flights a day in summer	Air France, Delta	Air France, French bee	Air France, United, American
French nationals registered with the consulate (district)	about 42,000	about 11,600	about 13,500	about 12,400

San Francisco attracts a few of our clients, but the nine hour gap with France hurts. Austin was never really considered, and Atlanta happened once.

You may not need an office yet

For the first hires, go remote on the East Coast, with someone who has already sold in the US. The office comes when a Co-founder crosses the Atlantic: build the hub where they land. More in should a Co-founder move to the US.

And for the first hires, Canada is a real option. A seller with US experience based in Canada can save you up to 40 percent of the final bill compared with New York, about an hour's flight away.

How to choose

If...	Then
Your buyers are in finance, media or advertising	New York
Your buyers are in biotech, healthcare or cybersecurity	Boston
Your buyers are in industry, food, logistics or insurance	Chicago
Your buyers are in Latin America, or cost decides	Miami
Your buyers are spread out	Remote on the East Coast first, hub later

For the full playbook, read how a French company hires its first salespeople in the US.

Figures checked on 13 November 2026. Sources: Zumper, Cushman & Wakefield, school websites, Tax Foundation, state labor and tax departments, RealPage Fortune 500 analysis, Air France, French Foreign Ministry, TrackRec.

Pick the city your buyers live in. Keep the movie version for vacation.

Talk soon!✌️

FAQ

Which US city should a French startup choose for its first office?

Start with where your clients are: New York for finance, media and advertising; Boston for biotech, healthcare and cybersecurity; Chicago for manufacturing, food, logistics and insurance; Miami for Latin America, hospitality and logistics. If they are spread out, start remote on the East Coast and pick a hub later.

Is Miami cheaper than New York for a sales team?

Yes. The TrackRec salary guide puts a mid-market Account Executive with five years at about 293,000 dollars of OTE in Miami against about 341,000 in New York, and Florida has no state income tax.

Is there a French school in Chicago, Boston, New York and Miami?

New York, Chicago and Boston each have a French or French-English school from kindergarten to 12th grade, with 2026-27 tuition from about 29,000 dollars in Chicago to about 52,000 in New York. Miami has no full French school inside the city.