Thanks to a relatively low cost of living, a good airport and a large annual crop of students trained in the life sciences, Des Moines is one of the most desirable cities in the country for biotechnology companies, a new study shows.

The city was ranked 14th in the nation by Boyd Co., a Princeton, N.J.-based that helps companies find sites for expansion or relocation. Clients include Time Inc., The Honda Company of America and financial services provider J.P. Morgan Chase. Among its biotechnology-related customers are Melbourne, Australia-based Mayne Pharma and Lyons, France-based Rhone-Poulenc S.A.

“The fact that Des Moines is on this list means that corporate America has its eye on Des Moines,” said John Boyd, a consultant at the company who last week presented the study to several unnamed clients and potential customers.

“Des Moines will be on the short list” for companies considering expansion or relocation, he said.

Desirability shifts with the times, Boyd said. For instance, during the go-go 1990s, maintaining a posh address in Manhattan or along New Jersey’s Route 1 was often viewed by biotech executives as more important than paying attention to costs.

Today, pressured by shareholders and competitors, companies are finding it next to impossible to significantly boost sales. To improve profits, they’re shifting focus to the cost side of the equation. Boyd said he has never seen such a relentless drive by corporate managers to find ways to trim expenses, Boyd said.

In addition, trade agreements have stiffened competition abroad. Though the exodus of U.S. manufacturing-related jobs to Mexico has garnered much attention, the real threat to the biotech industry is Canada, Boyd said. Indeed, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal all ranked among the top 12 cities that would be good homes for biotech companies.

Other items that helped boost Des Moines’ position was Iowa’s right-to-work law, Gov. Tom Vilsack, whom Boyd called “a very pro-business governor,” and the creation of the Iowa Values Fund.

“That sends a very positive signal to corporate America, especially the biotech industry,” he said.

The cost of operating a biotech facility can vary by as much as 50 percent, the survey showed. For instance, Boyd estimates that a company that leased 75,000 square feet of Class A office space and employed 100 workers, the average size of a biotech company, would pay $12.1 million each year in San Jose, Calif., the most expensive city in the survey.

That same facility would cost $8 million in Montreal, the least expensive. In Des Moines, Boyd estimates, it would cost $8.7 million.

The biotech study was completed earlier this year and rated cities based on availability of skilled labor, including workers with advanced degrees in the life sciences, facility lease rates, utility costs, ease and access to corporate travel and other occupancy costs.

Boyd said government incentives typically play a minor role in companies’ decisions on relocation or expansion.

“Comparative economics play a far larger role,” he said.