America’s Best Performing Cities

The latest edition of the Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities Index is out this week, and, as usual, it’s an interesting read.  These national benchmarking reports used to be fairly common, but few organizations are still producing them.  Kudos to the Milken Institute for continuing with this series.

These reports track how 403 US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) perform on a host of measures such as recent job growth, high-tech job growth, and access to economic opportunities.  This year’s results are similar to past years, but it does appear that the past dominance of Southern and Southwestern regions is lessening.  MSAs from the around the US are now among some of the top-level performers and the most improved performers. .  Below, I’ve listed (in rank order) the best performing (Tier 1) regions among large and small MSAs.

• Large MSAs:  Raleigh NC; Ogden UT; Salt Lake City UT; Huntsville AL; Colorado Springs CO; Austin TX: Olympia WA; Palm Bay FL: Boise ID; Charleson SC; Myrtle Beach SC.
• Small MSAs:  Gainesville GA; St. George UT; Bend OR; Midland TX; Jefferson City MO; Coeur d’Alene ID; Jacksonville NC; Missoula MT; Auburn AL; The Villages FL; Winchester VA; Elizabethtown KY; Wenatchee WA; Lawrence KS.