Often, companies that scour the world for the best place to set up shop only consider the biggest cities in their shortlist. However, smaller cities can often offer advantages when it comes time to invest in outsourcing services. Nearshore Americas has put together a list of the eight best “secondary cities” (population between 500,000 and 3 million) in Latin America for outsourcing. 

Among the top highlights of small cities, the publication points out that “Secondary markets often offer cheaper labor and real estate, high levels of talent but with less competition, more navigable cities, and more welcoming authorities.”

1. La Plata, Argentina: According to the article, this city is “the Boston of Latin America” due to its high concentration of universities and, as a result, an ample talent pool.
2. Florianópolis, Brasil: Highlighting the city’s flourishing high-tech companies along with low rental costs, Nearshore Americas calls this city the “Silicon Valley of Brazil.”
3. Valparaíso/ Viña del Mar, Chile: Nearshore Americas states that these joined cities have one of the largest ports in South America, a robust economy close to Santiago, and a high quality of life. 
4. Barranquilla, Colombia: According to Nearshore, this Colombian city makes the list due to its enviable communications infrastructure, which is reliable and inexpensive. 
5. Cali, Colombia: This city boasts easy access to the Pacific Ocean and inexpensive real estate. 
6. Medellín, Colombia: Nearshore tells us that this city is experiencing rapid growth and has a burgeoning tech company ecosystem. 
7. San José, Costa Rica: In this city, Nearshore highlights “the number of free trade agreements that provide tax incentives for high value-added activities such as manufacturing, services, and scientific research.”
8. Arequipa, Perú: The goal of the Peruvian government is to become the “sister city” of Bangalore, India for IT services.

To learn more about the unique characteristics of each of these cities, read the full article here.