Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
#1 Washington
#2 Boston
#3 Des Moines, Iowa
#4 Minneapolis-St. Paul
#5 Omaha, Nebraska
#6 Oklahoma City
#7 Salt Lake City
#8 Austin, Texas
#9 New York
#10 San Antonio
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
5,509 posts, read 11,839,922 times
Reputation: 2501
METHODOLOGY:
In detail, these are the 15 criteria for this year’s “Best Cities” survey. The 15 criteria fall into one of two general headings — economic stability and company concentration. Under company concentration, the categories are:
1. Per-capital sales volume, based on revenue of S&P 500 companies in a metro area, divided by the population. 2. Per-capita sales for Fortune 500 companies in the area. 3. Per-capita sales for Forbes Private Companies in the area. 4. Number of Russell 2000 companies per capita in a metro area. (For those cities with no S&P, Fortune 500, Forbes or Russell companies, the largest metro area with a zero total in those categories finishes last.) 5. Census Bureau data from 2009 — the most recent available — measuring the number of companies, annual payroll and number of employees, all per capita, in a metro area. 6. Census Bureau data measuring economic output in the military sector per capita for 2009. 7. Census Bureau data measuring economic output in the leisure and hospitality sector per capita for 2009. Data is most recent available.
Under the general heading of economic stability, the categories are: 1. Population growth, from Census Bureau data, 2000 to 2010. 2. Per capita metro economic output, from Bureau of Economic Analysis data, 2010. 3. Growth in economic output, from Bureau of Economic Analysis data, 2007 to 2010. 4. Personal income growth, from Bureau of Economic Analysis data, 2000 to 2010. 5. Personal income growth, from Bureau of Economic Analysis data, 2009 to 2010. 6. Unemployment rates, from Bureau of Labor Statistics data, for August 2011 7. Cumulative metro unemployment rates, from Bureau of Labor Statistics data, for August 2003, August 2007 and August 2011. 8. Job growth measured against population growth from Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 2005 to 2010.
#1 Washington
#2 Boston
#3 Des Moines, Iowa
#4 Minneapolis-St. Paul
#5 Omaha, Nebraska
#6 Oklahoma City
#7 Salt Lake City
#8 Austin, Texas
#9 New York
#10 San Antonio
This seems like a credible ranking. The job stats largely match this.
Nice to see Pittsburgh is #16 and the top business city in Pennsylvania (even though Philly and Harrisburg aren't far behind which is good). Surprised to see some smaller cities such as Des Moines, Richmond, and Harrisburg rated so high and that Chicago and Detroit were so low for as large as they are.
I feel like Des Moines and Omaha are all over these "best deals" "best career places" "best place to raise a child" "best overall city" "best city for business" "best bang for your buck"
This seems like a credible ranking. The job stats largely match this.
No it doesnt.
DC, Austin and San Antonio are all losing jobs right now.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.