New Geography

Tag: Best Cities 2013

  • Large Cities Manufacturing Jobs – 2013 Best Cities Rankings

    The methodology for the 2013 rankings for best cities for manufacturing jobs parallels that used for our 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth rankings.  Instead of using Total Nonfarm Employment, the manufacturing rankings use employment in manufacturing (supersector 30) in the BLS MSA employment data.  The manufacturing rankings include the 357 MSAs for which there are sectoral employment data for all 12 years used in our analysis. 

    2013  Mfg Rank – Large MSAs Area 2013 Weighted MFG INDEX 2012 MFG Employment (1000s) 2012  Mfg Rank – Large MSAs 2013 Mfg Rank Change from 2012
    1 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 87.1         248.3 4 3
    2 Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN 82.2           72.5 47 45
    3 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 80.4         169.9 1 (2)
    4 Oklahoma City, OK 79.1           35.6 2 (2)
    5 Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 77.2         143.3 5 0
    6 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN 75.7           70.4 48 42
    7 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 75.4           55.1 33 26
    8 Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Division 71.0           80.4 24 16
    9 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division 70.1           92.8 9 0
    10 Salt Lake City, UT 67.8           55.7 3 (7)
    11 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 64.9           47.0 7 (4)
    12 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 64.5           37.5 46 34
    13 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC 64.3           71.0 22 9
    14 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 59.5         119.5 10 (4)
    15 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 59.2         181.5 15 0
    16 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 59.2           51.1 8 (8)
    17 Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL Metropolitan Division 58.0           26.7 16 (1)
    18 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 57.7         156.5 11 (7)
    19 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 57.4           31.6 14 (5)
    20 Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 56.9         158.0 20 0
    21 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 56.6         117.8 43 22
    22 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO 56.3           63.4 34 12
    23 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN 55.3           83.7 50 27
    24 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 54.8         114.7 19 (5)
    25 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN 54.7         106.0 6 (19)
    26 Pittsburgh, PA 54.1           89.3 28 2
    27 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH 53.9         122.4 18 (9)
    28 Columbus, OH 53.0           65.6 21 (7)
    29 Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA 52.6           34.1 57 28
    30 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 52.5           93.1 29 (1)
    31 Honolulu, HI 52.4           10.8 36 5
    32 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 51.6         148.8 25 (7)
    33 Raleigh-Cary, NC 51.2           27.2 45 12
    34 Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 50.9         324.7 26 (8)
    35 Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division 49.3           73.4 35 0
    36 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 49.0           50.9 12 (24)
    37 Jacksonville, FL 47.6           28.0 53 16
    38 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 47.2           91.5 23 (15)
    39 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT NECTA 46.7           56.8 27 (12)
    40 Bergen-Hudson-Passaic, NJ 46.5           60.2 17 (23)
    41 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 44.9           36.2 37 (4)
    42 Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 43.5           79.9 44 2
    43 St. Louis, MO-IL 42.0         109.0 31 (12)
    44 Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA NECTA 41.6           50.8 36 (8)
    45 Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 40.9         164.2 30 (15)
    46 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 40.8         362.7 49 3
    47 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 40.2           43.7 42 (5)
    48 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV 39.0           20.2 51 3
    49 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 38.7           37.7 40 (9)
    50 Philadelphia City, PA 38.6           23.1 55 5
    51 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL Metropolitan Division 37.1           15.2 56 5
    52 New York City, NY 35.7           75.2 58 6
    53 Edison-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division 34.0           58.4 64 11
    54 Richmond, VA 33.9           31.9 65 11
    55 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 33.3           58.9 41 (14)
    56 Rochester, NY 32.9           57.9 32 (24)
    57 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA 32.1           29.8 38 (19)
    58 Northern Virginia, VA 30.7           21.9 39 (19)
    59 Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD Metropolitan Division 30.5           15.8 54 (5)
    60 Kansas City, MO 29.6           37.8 13 (47)
    61 Putnam-Rockland-Westchester, NY 27.7           24.5 63 2
    62 Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 27.5           63.4 52 (10)
    63 Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division 26.8           35.0 59 (4)
    64 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 25.5           86.4 62 (2)
    65 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 24.6           32.0 61 (4)
    66 Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division 21.9           35.3 60 (6)

  • Midsized Cites Manufacturing Jobs – 2013 Best Cities Rankings

    The methodology for the 2013 rankings for best cities for manufacturing jobs parallels that used for our 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth rankings.  Instead of using Total Nonfarm Employment, the manufacturing rankings use employment in manufacturing (supersector 30) in the BLS MSA employment data.  The manufacturing rankings include the 357 MSAs for which there are sectoral employment data for all 12 years used in our analysis. 

    Note: This page was updated June 6, 2013 to correct errors in the “2012 Mfg Employment” column.

    2013 Mfg Rank – Midsized MSAs Area 2013 Weighted INDEX 2012 Mfg Employment (000s) 2012  Mfg Rank – Midsized MSAs Mfg Size Ranking Change 2012-2013
    1 Mobile, AL 92.3            18.5 4 3
    2 Savannah, GA 86.2            15.6 24 22
    3 Lafayette, LA 82.3            11.3 1 (2)
    4 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 82.1            23.1 15 11
    5 Tulsa, OK 80.1            50.4 5 0
    6 Anchorage, AK 79.2              2.2 57 51
    7 Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC 78.5            23.7 2 (5)
    8 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 77.1            23.1 8 0
    9 Baton Rouge, LA 75.6            27.1 30 21
    10 Roanoke, VA 73.0            17.2 20 10
    11 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 72.8            66.0 10 (1)
    12 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 71.8            19.5 14 2
    13 Bakersfield-Delano, CA 71.0            13.5 3 (10)
    14 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 69.4            21.7 6 (8)
    15 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 68.9            24.6 25 10
    16 Toledo, OH 68.5            41.7 39 23
    17 Boulder, CO 68.2            16.6 24 7
    18 Gary, IN Metropolitan Division 68.0            36.3 26 8
    19 Reading, PA 66.5            29.8 28 9
    20 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 65.1            36.8 41 21
    21 El Paso, TX 63.3            17.9 32 11
    22 Lincoln, NE 63.2            13.4 35 13
    23 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC 63.0            38.7 11 (12)
    24 Framingham, MA  NECTA Division 62.7            24.8 7 (17)
    25 Montgomery, AL 62.0            18.0 74 49
    26 Green Bay, WI 61.8            28.4 27 1
    27 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA 61.8            12.0 38 11
    28 Trenton-Ewing, NJ 61.4              8.7 40 12
    29 Chattanooga, TN-GA 60.3            30.8 18 (11)
    30 Knoxville, TN 59.5            32.2 22 (8)
    31 Columbia, SC 58.0            28.1 9 (22)
    32 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 57.7            14.7 81 49
    33 Asheville, NC 57.5            18.5 29 (4)
    34 Akron, OH 57.1            40.2 19 (15)
    35 Fort Wayne, IN 56.4            33.3 45 10
    36 Corpus Christi, TX 56.0              9.8 36 0
    37 Canton-Massillon, OH 55.8            26.4 13 (24)
    38 Evansville, IN-KY 55.7            28.2 70 32
    39 Provo-Orem, UT 55.0            17.3 16 (23)
    40 Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metr Div 54.3            55.0 34 (6)
    41 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 52.6              8.5 56 15
    42 Lansing-East Lansing, MI 52.3            18.1 21 (21)
    43 Kansas City, KS 51.6            33.8 17 (26)
    44 Peoria, IL 50.3            28.0 12 (32)
    45 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 49.9            19.4 33 (12)
    46 Lancaster, PA 49.6            36.1 66 20
    47 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 47.8            30.5 42 (5)
    48 Greensboro-High Point, NC 47.0            52.1 31 (17)
    49 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 46.6            14.2 64 15
    50 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 46.4            20.2 54 4
    51 Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division 46.0            18.8 61 10
    52 Dayton, OH 46.0            41.0 46 (6)
    53 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 45.9            19.8 72 19
    54 Springfield, MA-CT NECTA 45.0            31.2 58 4
    55 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 44.9              6.3 82 27
    56 Tucson, AZ 42.7            23.2 52 (4)
    57 Lexington-Fayette, KY 42.6            29.3 78 21
    58 Wichita, KS 42.5            53.4 73 15
    59 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY 42.1            18.0 76 17
    60 Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME NECTA 42.1            12.7 53 (7)
    61 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 41.3            20.8 71 10
    62 Springfield, MO 40.7            13.9 50 (12)
    63 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA 39.9            27.0 69 6
    64 York-Hanover, PA 39.4            31.5 55 (9)
    65 Jackson, MS 39.3            16.5 75 10
    66 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 39.1            19.9 86 20
    67 Reno-Sparks, NV 38.4            11.5 87 20
    68 Ann Arbor, MI 37.2            14.1 62 (6)
    69 Colorado Springs, CO 36.6            12.7 60 (9)
    70 New Haven, CT NECTA 36.5            25.6 67 (3)
    71 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT NECTA 35.4            33.6 47 (24)
    72 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 35.0              5.6 83 11
    73 Boise City-Nampa, ID 34.9            23.9 63 (10)
    74 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 34.9            26.9 80 6
    75 Madison, WI 34.7            28.2 65 (10)
    76 Spokane, WA 34.2            15.1 23 (53)
    77 Tacoma, WA Metropolitan Division 33.7            16.8 43 (34)
    78 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 32.9              4.5 51 (27)
    79 Winston-Salem, NC 31.5            19.6 85 6
    80 Baltimore City, MD 31.4            12.3 77 (3)
    81 Worcester, MA-CT NECTA 30.7            23.8 37 (44)
    82 Fresno, CA 26.2            22.4 44 (38)
    83 Syracuse, NY 25.1            24.6 68 (15)
    84 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 23.0            33.5 79 (5)
    85 Albuquerque, NM 20.4            17.3 59 (26)
    86 Stockton, CA 19.2            17.1 48 (38)
    87 Calvert-Charles-Prince George’s, MD 17.8              8.5 88 1
    88 Tallahassee, FL 17.4              3.3 90 2
    89 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 14.1            29.5 84 (5)
    90 Huntsville, AL 11.2            22.1 91 1
    91 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 1.3              8.8 89 (2)

  • Small Cities Manufacturing Jobs – 2013 Best Cities Rankings

    The methodology for the 2013 rankings for best cities for manufacturing jobs parallels that used for our 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth rankings.  Instead of using Total Nonfarm Employment, the manufacturing rankings use employment in manufacturing (supersector 30) in the BLS MSA employment data.  The manufacturing rankings include the 357 MSAs for which there are sectoral employment data for all 12 years used in our analysis. 

    2013  Mfg Rank – Small MSAs Area 2013 Weighted INDEX 2012 Manufacturing Employment (000s) 2012 Mfg Size Category Ranking Overall Ranking Change Within Category
    1 Columbus, IN 96.1                18.5 3 2
    2 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA 94.8                   7.3 44 42
    3 Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL 94.6                   8.8 11 8
    4 Odessa, TX 94.5                   5.7 1 (3)
    5 Greenville, NC 89.8                   7.7 52 47
    6 Flagstaff, AZ 87.8                   4.3 19 13
    7 Midland, TX 87.7                   3.5 5 (2)
    8 Napa, CA 86.1                11.7 63 55
    9 Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI 85.9                12.7 72 63
    10 Elizabethtown, KY 84.8                   6.1 81 71
    11 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA 84.5                   2.4 4 (7)
    12 Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, FL 84.4                   3.5 161 149
    13 Punta Gorda, FL 84.1                   0.8 73 60
    14 Springfield, OH 83.8                   7.2 60 46
    15 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 83.3                17.8 13 (2)
    16 Rockford, IL 82.8                32.4 20 4
    17 Lafayette, IN 82.3                16.6 15 (2)
    18 Visalia-Porterville, CA 82.3                12.0 121 103
    19 College Station-Bryan, TX 82.2                   5.6 77 58
    20 Fond du Lac, WI 81.8                10.3 29 9
    21 Madera-Chowchilla, CA 81.7                   3.5 56 35
    22 Fargo, ND-MN 81.3                10.1 10 (12)
    23 Holland-Grand Haven, MI 81.2                33.3 12 (11)
    24 Racine, WI 81.2                18.8 31 7
    25 Idaho Falls, ID 80.9                   3.4 82 57
    26 Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 80.7                   2.0 80 54
    27 Sioux Falls, SD 78.3                13.2 95 68
    28 San Angelo, TX 77.5                   3.9 21 (7)
    29 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 77.0                   6.3 106 77
    30 El Centro, CA 76.7                   2.7 115 85
    31 Jackson, MI 76.7                   8.8 28 (3)
    32 Erie, PA 76.0                22.7 24 (8)
    33 Cleveland, TN 75.6                   8.6 65 32
    34 Bellingham, WA 74.8                   8.9 27 (7)
    35 Spartanburg, SC 74.0                25.7 98 63
    36 Kankakee-Bradley, IL 73.0                   5.3 16 (20)
    37 Battle Creek, MI 72.5                11.3 99 62
    38 Appleton, WI 72.4                22.7 25 (13)
    39 Bloomington, IN 72.4                   9.3 40 1
    40 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 71.9                11.5 32 (8)
    41 Portsmouth, NH-ME NECTA 71.7                   3.5 158 117
    42 Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI 71.7                11.4 18 (24)
    43 Victoria, TX 70.9                   6.0 34 (9)
    44 Bay City, MI 70.2                   4.1 157 113
    45 Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 70.1                10.0 108 63
    46 Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, MA-NH  NECTA Division 69.8                10.3 112 66
    47 Sandusky, OH 69.2                   5.8 23 (24)
    48 Eau Claire, WI 68.5                10.7 49 1
    49 Muncie, IN 68.3                   4.2 104 55
    50 Coeur d’Alene, ID 68.3                   4.5 30 (20)
    51 Morgantown, WV 68.0                   4.1 14 (37)
    52 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 67.6                   5.2 70 18
    53 Merced, CA 67.3                   8.3 119 66
    54 Greeley, CO 67.1                11.3 7 (47)
    55 Waco, TX 66.8                14.6 67 12
    56 Logan, UT-ID 66.4                11.1 61 5
    57 Casper, WY 66.1                   1.9 6 (51)
    58 Anderson, IN 65.5                   3.8 125 67
    59 Lubbock, TX 65.1                   5.0 51 (8)
    60 Danville, VA 63.9                   7.0 26 (34)
    61 Elkhart-Goshen, IN 63.8                50.5 78 17
    62 Rapid City, SD 63.7                   2.7 128 66
    63 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 63.5                   5.6 132 69
    64 Altoona, PA 63.2                   7.5 64 0
    65 Dover, DE 62.4                   3.4 114 49
    66 Anderson, SC 62.3                12.1 37 (29)
    67 Hattiesburg, MS 62.2                   4.4 191 124
    68 Yuba City, CA 62.2                   2.1 38 (30)
    69 Terre Haute, IN 62.2                11.6 59 (10)
    70 Flint, MI 62.0                11.9 110 40
    71 Ithaca, NY 62.0                   3.3 118 47
    72 Burlington-South Burlington, VT NECTA 61.1                14.2 88 16
    73 Bowling Green, KY 60.4                   8.6 68 (5)
    74 Lake Charles, LA 59.7                   8.7 69 (5)
    75 Monroe, MI 59.5                   5.2 126 51
    76 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD 58.8                12.2 124 48
    77 Medford, OR 58.5                   6.7 111 34
    78 Bloomington-Normal, IL 58.3                   4.4 165 87
    79 Fayetteville, NC 58.1                   9.2 103 24
    80 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA 57.4                22.0 45 (35)
    81 Amarillo, TX 57.3                13.2 48 (33)
    82 Barnstable Town, MA NECTA 56.9                   2.9 8 (74)
    83 Tuscaloosa, AL 56.7                13.2 130 47
    84 Topeka, KS 56.5                   7.2 2 (82)
    85 Naples-Marco Island, FL 56.3                   2.7 152 67
    86 Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH  NECTA Division 55.9                17.4 86 0
    87 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 54.9                   5.8 148 61
    88 Gadsden, AL 54.3                   5.0 50 (38)
    89 Danville, IL 54.1                   5.3 92 3
    90 Port St. Lucie, FL 53.8                   5.2 151 61
    91 St. George, UT 53.7                   2.5 83 (8)
    92 Longview, WA 53.4                   6.1 123 31
    93 Prescott, AZ 53.3                   2.9 55 (38)
    94 Pittsfield, MA NECTA 53.0                   3.3 144 50
    95 Grand Forks, ND-MN 53.0                   3.7 194 99
    96 Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 52.8                18.8 183 87
    97 Lewiston, ID-WA 52.8                   3.1 75 (22)
    98 Lawton, OK 52.6                   3.5 62 (36)
    99 Redding, CA 52.5                   2.3 164 65
    100 Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ 52.4                   8.2 131 31
    101 State College, PA 51.8                   4.1 36 (65)
    102 Yuma, AZ 51.6                   2.1 177 75
    103 Niles-Benton Harbor, MI 51.0                12.0 127 24
    104 Owensboro, KY 51.0                   8.2 100 (4)
    105 Monroe, LA 50.8                   6.8 172 67
    106 Mansfield, OH 50.7                   9.5 180 74
    107 Yakima, WA 50.7                   7.8 58 (49)
    108 Grand Junction, CO 50.7                   2.7 84 (24)
    109 Charleston, WV 50.2                   5.4 120 11
    110 Glens Falls, NY 49.9                   6.2 87 (23)
    111 Santa Fe, NM 49.6                   0.8 196 85
    112 Sherman-Denison, TX 49.4                   5.3 85 (27)
    113 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 49.3                   9.0 101 (12)
    114 Burlington, NC 48.1                   8.9 146 32
    115 Pueblo, CO 46.8                   4.1 22 (93)
    116 Lebanon, PA 45.8                   8.9 76 (40)
    117 Michigan City-La Porte, IN 45.7                   7.9 71 (46)
    118 Kokomo, IN 45.5                10.1 141 23
    119 Utica-Rome, NY 45.3                10.9 139 20
    120 Lima, OH 44.2                   7.5 109 (11)
    121 Champaign-Urbana, IL 44.1                   8.1 163 42
    122 Springfield, IL 43.7                   3.0 74 (48)
    123 St. Cloud, MN 43.7                15.0 94 (29)
    124 Duluth, MN-WI 43.7                   7.2 17 (107)
    125 Bangor, ME NECTA 43.5                   2.6 116 (9)
    126 Jackson, TN 43.4                   8.7 171 45
    127 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 43.2                17.0 53 (74)
    128 Norwich-New London, CT-RI NECTA 42.7                14.1 147 19
    129 Rochester, MN 42.7                10.1 89 (40)
    130 Cedar Rapids, IA 42.1                20.4 39 (91)
    131 Lynchburg, VA 41.6                14.5 142 11
    132 Rochester-Dover, NH-ME NECTA 41.5                   5.7 102 (30)
    133 Olympia, WA 41.2                   3.1 41 (92)
    134 Peabody, MA  NECTA Division 41.0                10.1 90 (44)
    135 Carson City, NV 40.1                   2.6 149 14
    136 Anniston-Oxford, AL 40.1                   5.8 153 17
    137 Decatur, AL 39.9                11.8 47 (90)
    138 Janesville, WI 39.8                   8.8 159 21
    139 Joplin, MO 39.7                12.8 170 31
    140 Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX 39.6                   7.1 137 (3)
    141 Waterbury, CT NECTA 39.3                   7.6 117 (24)
    142 Hanford-Corcoran, CA 39.2                   3.7 9 (133)
    143 Las Cruces, NM 39.1                   2.9 136 (7)
    144 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 38.4                37.1 150 6
    145 Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 38.2                   2.8 173 28
    146 Wilmington, NC 37.9                   7.3 168 22
    147 Auburn-Opelika, AL 37.7                   5.5 96 (51)
    148 Longview, TX 37.0                11.4 35 (113)
    149 Bend, OR 36.6                   3.9 174 25
    150 New Bedford, MA NECTA 36.4                   8.3 57 (93)
    151 Sumter, SC 35.9                   5.9 176 25
    152 Rocky Mount, NC 35.5                10.1 187 35
    153 Elmira, NY 34.9                   5.5 93 (60)
    154 Morristown, TN 34.9                10.6 190 36
    155 Cheyenne, WY 34.3                   1.4 46 (109)
    156 Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 33.6                   5.2 134 (22)
    157 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 33.3                   7.9 167 10
    158 Ocala, FL 33.0                   6.7 169 11
    159 La Crosse, WI-MN 32.7                   8.3 113 (46)
    160 Manchester, NH NECTA 32.7                   7.7 97 (63)
    161 Johnstown, PA 32.5                   4.1 122 (39)
    162 Salem, OR 32.4                11.0 200 38
    163 Salinas, CA 32.4                   5.1 33 (130)
    164 Nashua, NH-MA  NECTA Division 31.9                20.8 135 (29)
    165 Modesto, CA 31.8                19.2 129 (36)
    166 Sheboygan, WI 31.5                18.5 162 (4)
    167 Wheeling, WV-OH 31.5                   3.5 133 (34)
    168 Abilene, TX 31.4                   2.7 184 16
    169 Gainesville, FL 31.2                   4.5 154 (15)
    170 Rome, GA 31.0                   5.6 192 22
    171 Johnson City, TN 30.5                   7.8 156 (15)
    172 Albany, GA 29.7                   4.3 195 23
    173 Pocatello, ID 29.0                   3.0 43 (130)
    174 Fairbanks, AK 29.0                   0.5 143 (31)
    175 Williamsport, PA 27.7                   8.3 54 (121)
    176 Chico, CA 27.6                   3.3   Not Rated
    177 Lewiston-Auburn, ME NECTA 27.1                   4.7 175 (2)
    178 Kingston, NY 26.3                   3.3 107 (71)
    179 Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL 25.6                   1.7 66 (113)
    180 Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV 24.2                   6.1 91 (89)
    181 Clarksville, TN-KY 24.1                10.2 166 (15)
    182 Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, MA NECTA 23.5                   6.1 181 (1)
    183 Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR 22.7                   4.1 178 (5)
    184 Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA  NECTA Division 21.5                   7.2 140 (44)
    185 Palm Coast, FL 21.1                   0.8 138 (47)
    186 Wausau, WI 20.3                14.5 160 (26)
    187 Corvallis, OR 19.8                   3.1 188 1
    188 Decatur, IL 18.7                10.1 79 (109)
    189 Wichita Falls, TX 16.9                   5.3 193 4
    190 Pascagoula, MS 16.5                13.3 155 (35)
    191 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL 16.1                   3.2 179 (12)
    192 Eugene-Springfield, OR 14.6                12.1 197 5
    193 Fort Smith, AR-OK 13.3                18.8 198 5
    194 Binghamton, NY 11.3                12.7 182 (12)
    195 Tyler, TX 11.2                   5.3 185 (10)
    196 Bismarck, ND 9.1                   1.7 186 (10)
    197 Dalton, GA 7.3                20.8 189 (8)
    198 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 7.3                   2.1 145 (53)
    199 Dothan, AL 6.6                   4.7 199 0
    200 Laredo, TX 0.7                   0.7 105 (95)

  • Overall Manufacturing Jobs – 2013 Best Cities Rankings

    The methodology for the 2013 rankings for best cities for manufacturing jobs parallels that used for our 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth rankings.  Instead of using Total Nonfarm Employment, the manufacturing rankings use employment in manufacturing (supersector 30) in the BLS MSA employment data.  The manufacturing rankings include the 357 MSAs for which there are sectoral employment data for all 12 years used in our analysis. 

    2013 Overall Mfg Rank Area Weighted INDEX 2012 Mfg Emplymt (1000s) 2012 Overall Mfg Rank  Overall Rank Change
    2012-2013
    1 Columbus, IN 96.1         18.5 5 4
    2 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA 94.8           7.3 78 76
    3 Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL 94.6           8.8 16 13
    4 Odessa, TX 94.5           5.7 1 (3)
    5 Mobile, AL 92.3         18.5 15 10
    6 Greenville, NC 89.8           7.7 91 85
    7 Flagstaff, AZ 87.8           4.3 27 20
    8 Midland, TX 87.7           3.5 7 (1)
    9 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 87.1       248.3 36 27
    10 Savannah, GA 86.2         15.6 76 66
    11 Napa, CA 86.1         11.7 105 94
    12 Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI 85.9         12.7 121 109
    13 Elizabethtown, KY 84.8           6.1 135 122
    14 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA 84.5           2.4 6 (8)
    15 Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, FL 84.4           3.5 291 276
    16 Punta Gorda, FL 84.1           0.8 123 107
    17 Springfield, OH 83.8           7.2 102 85
    18 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 83.3         17.8 19 1
    19 Rockford, IL 82.8         32.4 28 9
    20 Lafayette, IN 82.3         16.6 21 1
    21 Visalia-Porterville, CA 82.3         12.0 210 189
    22 Lafayette, LA 82.3         11.3 3 (19)
    23 College Station-Bryan, TX 82.2           5.6 129 106
    24 Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN 82.2         72.5 258 234
    25 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 82.1         23.1 55 30
    26 Fond du Lac, WI 81.8         10.3 46 20
    27 Madera-Chowchilla, CA 81.7           3.5 97 70
    28 Fargo, ND-MN 81.3         10.1 12 (16)
    29 Holland-Grand Haven, MI 81.2         33.3 17 (12)
    30 Racine, WI 81.2         18.8 48 18
    31 Idaho Falls, ID 80.9           3.4 136 105
    32 Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 80.7           2.0 134 102
    33 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA mtr div 80.4       169.9 14 (19)
    34 Tulsa, OK 80.1         50.4 18 (16)
    35 Anchorage, AK 79.2           2.2 221 186
    36 Oklahoma City, OK 79.1         35.6 34 (2)
    37 Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC 78.5         23.7 4 (33)
    38 Sioux Falls, SD 78.3         13.2 162 124
    39 San Angelo, TX 77.5           3.9 29 (10)
    40 Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI mtr div 77.2       143.3 38 (2)
    41 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 77.1         23.1 32 (9)
    42 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 77.0           6.3 188 146
    43 El Centro, CA 76.7           2.7 202 159
    44 Jackson, MI 76.7           8.8 45 1
    45 Erie, PA 76.0         22.7 33 (12)
    46 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN 75.7         70.4 260 214
    47 Cleveland, TN 75.6           8.6 109 62
    48 Baton Rouge, LA 75.6         27.1 110 62
    49 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 75.4         55.1 180 131
    50 Bellingham, WA 74.8           8.9 42 (8)
    51 Spartanburg, SC 74.0         25.7 169 118
    52 Kankakee-Bradley, IL 73.0           5.3 24 (28)
    53 Roanoke, VA 73.0         17.2 65 12
    54 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 72.8         66.0 41 (13)
    55 Battle Creek, MI 72.5         11.3 174 119
    56 Appleton, WI 72.4         22.7 37 (19)
    57 Bloomington, IN 72.4           9.3 73 16
    58 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 71.9         11.5 50 (8)
    59 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 71.8         19.5 53 (6)
    60 Portsmouth, NH-ME NECTA 71.7           3.5 285 225
    61 Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI 71.7         11.4 26 (35)
    62 Bakersfield-Delano, CA 71.0         13.5 13 (49)
    63 Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI mtr div 71.0         80.4 155 92
    64 Victoria, TX 70.9           6.0 54 (10)
    65 Bay City, MI 70.2           4.1 282 217
    66 Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 70.1         10.0 192 126
    67 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX mtr div 70.1         92.8 63 (4)
    68 Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, MA-NH  NECTA Division 69.8         10.3 199 131
    69 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 69.4         21.7 22 (47)
    70 Sandusky, OH 69.2           5.8 31 (39)
    71 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 68.9         24.6 86 15
    72 Eau Claire, WI 68.5         10.7 84 12
    73 Toledo, OH 68.5         41.7 152 79
    74 Muncie, IN 68.3           4.2 184 110
    75 Coeur d’Alene, ID 68.3           4.5 47 (28)
    76 Boulder, CO 68.2         16.6 81 5
    77 Morgantown, WV 68.0           4.1 20 (57)
    78 Gary, IN mtr div 68.0         36.3 87 9
    79 Salt Lake City, UT 67.8         55.7 35 (44)
    80 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 67.6           5.2 118 38
    81 Merced, CA 67.3           8.3 208 127
    82 Greeley, CO 67.1         11.3 9 (73)
    83 Waco, TX 66.8         14.6 113 30
    84 Reading, PA 66.5         29.8 93 9
    85 Logan, UT-ID 66.4         11.1 103 18
    86 Casper, WY 66.1           1.9 8 (78)
    87 Anderson, IN 65.5           3.8 217 130
    88 Lubbock, TX 65.1           5.0 88 0
    89 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 65.1         36.8 157 68
    90 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 64.9         47.0 59 (31)
    91 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 64.5         37.5 255 164
    92 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC 64.3         71.0 147 55
    93 Danville, VA 63.9           7.0 40 (53)
    94 Elkhart-Goshen, IN 63.8         50.5 132 38
    95 Rapid City, SD 63.7           2.7 223 128
    96 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 63.5           5.6 236 140
    97 El Paso, TX 63.3         17.9 124 27
    98 Lincoln, NE 63.2         13.4 137 39
    99 Altoona, PA 63.2           7.5 107 8
    100 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC 63.0         38.7 43 (57)
    101 Framingham, MA  NECTA Division 62.7         24.8 23 (78)
    102 Dover, DE 62.4           3.4 201 99
    103 Anderson, SC 62.3         12.1 66 (37)
    104 Hattiesburg, MS 62.2           4.4 345 241
    105 Yuba City, CA 62.2           2.1 70 (35)
    106 Terre Haute, IN 62.2         11.6 101 (5)
    107 Montgomery, AL 62.0         18.0 288 181
    108 Flint, MI 62.0         11.9 194 86
    109 Ithaca, NY 62.0           3.3 207 98
    110 Green Bay, WI 61.8         28.4 89 (21)
    111 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA 61.8         12.0 146 35
    112 Trenton-Ewing, NJ 61.4           8.7 156 44
    113 Burlington-South Burlington, VT NECTA 61.1         14.2 148 35
    114 Bowling Green, KY 60.4           8.6 115 1
    115 Chattanooga, TN-GA 60.3         30.8 62 (53)
    116 Lake Charles, LA 59.7           8.7 116 0
    117 Monroe, MI 59.5           5.2 218 101
    118 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 59.5       119.5 68 (50)
    119 Knoxville, TN 59.5         32.2 69 (50)
    120 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 59.2       181.5 108 (12)
    121 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 59.2         51.1 60 (61)
    122 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD 58.8         12.2 216 94
    123 Medford, OR 58.5           6.7 196 73
    124 Bloomington-Normal, IL 58.3           4.4 302 178
    125 Fayetteville, NC 58.1           9.2 183 58
    126 Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL Mtr Div 58.0         26.7 112 (14)
    127 Columbia, SC 58.0         28.1 39 (88)
    128 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 57.7         14.7 306 178
    129 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 57.7       156.5 72 (57)
    130 Asheville, NC 57.5         18.5 106 (24)
    131 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA 57.4         22.0 79 (52)
    132 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 57.4         31.6 99 (33)
    133 Amarillo, TX 57.3         13.2 83 (50)
    134 Akron, OH 57.1         40.2 64 (70)
    135 Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA mtr div 56.9       158.0 130 (5)
    136 Barnstable Town, MA NECTA 56.9           2.9 10 (126)
    137 Tuscaloosa, AL 56.7         13.2 227 90
    138 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 56.6       117.8 233 95
    139 Topeka, KS 56.5           7.2 2 (137)
    140 Fort Wayne, IN 56.4         33.3 177 37
    141 Naples-Marco Island, FL 56.3           2.7 272 131
    142 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO 56.3         63.4 182 40
    143 Corpus Christi, TX 56.0           9.8 138 (5)
    144 Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH  NECTA Division 55.9         17.4 144 0
    145 Canton-Massillon, OH 55.8         26.4 52 (93)
    146 Evansville, IN-KY 55.7         28.2 278 132
    147 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN 55.3         83.7 265 118
    148 Provo-Orem, UT 55.0         17.3 58 (90)
    149 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 54.9           5.8 264 115
    150 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 54.8       114.7 122 (28)
    151 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN 54.7       106.0 49 (102)
    152 Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI mtr div 54.3         55.0 131 (21)
    153 Gadsden, AL 54.3           5.0 85 (68)
    154 Danville, IL 54.1           5.3 154 0
    155 Pittsburgh, PA 54.1         89.3 168 13
    156 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH 53.9       122.4 119 (37)
    157 Port St. Lucie, FL 53.8           5.2 271 114
    158 St. George, UT 53.7           2.5 139 (19)
    159 Longview, WA 53.4           6.1 212 53
    160 Prescott, AZ 53.3           2.9 96 (64)
    161 Columbus, OH 53.0         65.6 143 (18)
    162 Pittsfield, MA NECTA 53.0           3.3 257 95
    163 Grand Forks, ND-MN 53.0           3.7 349 186
    164 Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 52.8         18.8 334 170
    165 Lewiston, ID-WA 52.8           3.1 127 (38)
    166 Lawton, OK 52.6           3.5 104 (62)
    167 Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA 52.6         34.1 292 125
    168 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 52.6           8.5 220 52
    169 Redding, CA 52.5           2.3 300 131
    170 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 52.5         93.1 170 0
    171 Honolulu, HI 52.4         10.8 190 19
    172 Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ 52.4           8.2 228 56
    173 Lansing-East Lansing, MI 52.3         18.1 67 (106)
    174 State College, PA 51.8           4.1 57 (117)
    175 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 51.6       148.8 158 (17)
    176 Yuma, AZ 51.6           2.1 327 151
    177 Kansas City, KS 51.6         33.8 61 (116)
    178 Raleigh-Cary, NC 51.2         27.2 241 63
    179 Niles-Benton Harbor, MI 51.0         12.0 222 43
    180 Owensboro, KY 51.0           8.2 175 (5)
    181 Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL mtr div 50.9       324.7 161 (20)
    182 Monroe, LA 50.8           6.8 318 136
    183 Mansfield, OH 50.7           9.5 330 147
    184 Yakima, WA 50.7           7.8 100 (84)
    185 Grand Junction, CO 50.7           2.7 140 (45)
    186 Peoria, IL 50.3         28.0 44 (142)
    187 Charleston, WV 50.2           5.4 209 22
    188 Glens Falls, NY 49.9           6.2 145 (43)
    189 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 49.9         19.4 125 (64)
    190 Santa Fe, NM 49.6           0.8 352 162
    191 Lancaster, PA 49.6         36.1 252 61
    192 Sherman-Denison, TX 49.4           5.3 141 (51)
    193 Nassau-Suffolk, NY mtr div 49.3         73.4 186 (7)
    194 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 49.3           9.0 176 (18)
    195 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 49.0         50.9 90 (105)
    196 Burlington, NC 48.1           8.9 262 66
    197 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 47.8         30.5 165 (32)
    198 Jacksonville, FL 47.6         28.0 279 81
    199 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 47.2         91.5 149 (50)
    200 Greensboro-High Point, NC 47.0         52.1 117 (83)
    201 Pueblo, CO 46.8           4.1 30 (171)
    202 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT NECTA 46.7         56.8 163 (39)
    203 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 46.6         14.2 247 44
    204 Bergen-Hudson-Passaic, NJ 46.5         60.2 114 (90)
    205 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 46.4         20.2 214 9
    206 Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ mtr div 46.0         18.8 237 31
    207 Dayton, OH 46.0         41.0 181 (26)
    208 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 45.9         19.8 281 73
    209 Lebanon, PA 45.8           8.9 128 (81)
    210 Michigan City-La Porte, IN 45.7           7.9 120 (90)
    211 Kokomo, IN 45.5         10.1 250 39
    212 Utica-Rome, NY 45.3         10.9 248 36
    213 Springfield, MA-CT NECTA 45.0         31.2 225 12
    214 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA mtr div 44.9         36.2 206 (8)
    215 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 44.9           6.3 309 94
    216 Lima, OH 44.2           7.5 193 (23)
    217 Champaign-Urbana, IL 44.1           8.1 299 82
    218 Springfield, IL 43.7           3.0 126 (92)
    219 St. Cloud, MN 43.7         15.0 160 (59)
    220 Duluth, MN-WI 43.7           7.2 25 (195)
    221 Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA mtr div 43.5         79.9 235 14
    222 Bangor, ME NECTA 43.5           2.6 204 (18)
    223 Jackson, TN 43.4           8.7 313 90
    224 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 43.2         17.0 92 (132)
    225 Tucson, AZ 42.7         23.2 203 (22)
    226 Norwich-New London, CT-RI NECTA 42.7         14.1 263 37
    227 Rochester, MN 42.7         10.1 150 (77)
    228 Lexington-Fayette, KY 42.6         29.3 297 69
    229 Wichita, KS 42.5         53.4 287 58
    230 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY 42.1         18.0 294 64
    231 Cedar Rapids, IA 42.1         20.4 71 (160)
    232 Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME NECTA 42.1         12.7 213 (19)
    233 St. Louis, MO-IL 42.0       109.0 173 (60)
    234 Lynchburg, VA 41.6         14.5 253 19
    235 Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA NECTA 41.6         50.8 197 (38)
    236 Rochester-Dover, NH-ME NECTA 41.5           5.7 179 (57)
    237 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 41.3         20.8 280 43
    238 Olympia, WA 41.2           3.1 74 (164)
    239 Peabody, MA  NECTA Division 41.0         10.1 151 (88)
    240 Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX mtr div 40.9       164.2 172 (68)
    241 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA mtr div 40.8       362.7 261 20
    242 Springfield, MO 40.7         13.9 195 (47)
    243 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 40.2         43.7 232 (11)
    244 Carson City, NV 40.1           2.6 267 23
    245 Anniston-Oxford, AL 40.1           5.8 273 28
    246 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA 39.9         27.0 270 24
    247 Decatur, AL 39.9         11.8 82 (165)
    248 Janesville, WI 39.8           8.8 286 38
    249 Joplin, MO 39.7         12.8 311 62
    250 Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX 39.6           7.1 243 (7)
    251 York-Hanover, PA 39.4         31.5 219 (32)
    252 Jackson, MS 39.3         16.5 293 41
    253 Waterbury, CT NECTA 39.3           7.6 205 (48)
    254 Hanford-Corcoran, CA 39.2           3.7 11 (243)
    255 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 39.1         19.9 326 71
    256 Las Cruces, NM 39.1           2.9 242 (14)
    257 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV 39.0         20.2 266 9
    258 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 38.7         37.7 229 (29)
    259 Philadelphia City, PA 38.6         23.1 284 25
    260 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 38.4         37.1 268 8
    261 Reno-Sparks, NV 38.4         11.5 333 72
    262 Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 38.2           2.8 319 57
    263 Wilmington, NC 37.9           7.3 307 44
    264 Auburn-Opelika, AL 37.7           5.5 164 (100)
    265 Ann Arbor, MI 37.2         14.1 245 (20)
    266 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL mtr div 37.1         15.2 290 24
    267 Longview, TX 37.0         11.4 56 (211)
    268 Colorado Springs, CO 36.6         12.7 234 (34)
    269 Bend, OR 36.6           3.9 321 52
    270 New Haven, CT NECTA 36.5         25.6 254 (16)
    271 New Bedford, MA NECTA 36.4           8.3 98 (173)
    272 Sumter, SC 35.9           5.9 324 52
    273 New York City, NY 35.7         75.2 296 23
    274 Rocky Mount, NC 35.5         10.1 340 66
    275 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT NECTA 35.4         33.6 187 (88)
    276 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 35.0           5.6 312 36
    277 Boise City-Nampa, ID 34.9         23.9 246 (31)
    278 Elmira, NY 34.9           5.5 159 (119)
    279 Morristown, TN 34.9         10.6 344 65
    280 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 34.9         26.9 304 24
    281 Madison, WI 34.7         28.2 251 (30)
    282 Cheyenne, WY 34.3           1.4 80 (202)
    283 Spokane, WA 34.2         15.1 75 (208)
    284 Edison-New Brunswick, NJ mtr div 34.0         58.4 325 41
    285 Richmond, VA 33.9         31.9 336 51
    286 Tacoma, WA mtr div 33.7         16.8 166 (120)
    287 Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 33.6           5.2 239 (48)
    288 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 33.3           7.9 305 17
    289 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 33.3         58.9 230 (59)
    290 Ocala, FL 33.0           6.7 310 20
    291 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 32.9           4.5 198 (93)
    292 Rochester, NY 32.9         57.9 178 (114)
    293 La Crosse, WI-MN 32.7           8.3 200 (93)
    294 Manchester, NH NECTA 32.7           7.7 167 (127)
    295 Johnstown, PA 32.5           4.1 211 (84)
    296 Salem, OR 32.4         11.0 356 60
    297 Salinas, CA 32.4           5.1 51 (246)
    298 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA 32.1         29.8 215 (83)
    299 Nashua, NH-MA  NECTA Division 31.9         20.8 240 (59)
    300 Modesto, CA 31.8         19.2 224 (76)
    301 Sheboygan, WI 31.5         18.5 298 (3)
    302 Winston-Salem, NC 31.5         19.6 317 15
    303 Wheeling, WV-OH 31.5           3.5 238 (65)
    304 Abilene, TX 31.4           2.7 337 33
    305 Baltimore City, MD 31.4         12.3 295 (10)
    306 Gainesville, FL 31.2           4.5 274 (32)
    307 Rome, GA 31.0           5.6 346 39
    308 Worcester, MA-CT NECTA 30.7         23.8 142 (166)
    309 Northern Virginia, VA 30.7         21.9 226 (83)
    310 Johnson City, TN 30.5           7.8 277 (33)
    311 Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD mtr div 30.5         15.8 283 (28)
    312 Albany, GA 29.7           4.3 350 38
    313 Kansas City, MO 29.6         37.8 95 (218)
    314 Pocatello, ID 29.0           3.0 77 (237)
    315 Fairbanks, AK 29.0           0.5 256 (59)
    316 Williamsport, PA 27.7           8.3 94 (222)
    317 Putnam-Rockland-Westchester, NY 27.7         24.5 322 5
    318 Chico, CA 27.6           3.3    
    319 Newark-Union, NJ-PA mtr div 27.5         63.4 276 (43)
    320 Lewiston-Auburn, ME NECTA 27.1           4.7 323 3
    321 Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL mtr div 26.8         35.0 308 (13)
    322 Kingston, NY 26.3           3.3 191 (131)
    323 Fresno, CA 26.2         22.4 171 (152)
    324 Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL 25.6           1.7 111 (213)
    325 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 25.5         86.4 320 (5)
    326 Syracuse, NY 25.1         24.6 269 (57)
    327 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV mtr div 24.6         32.0 315 (12)
    328 Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV 24.2           6.1 153 (175)
    329 Clarksville, TN-KY 24.1         10.2 303 (26)
    330 Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, MA NECTA 23.5           6.1 331 1
    331 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 23.0         33.5 301 (30)
    332 Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR 22.7           4.1 328 (4)
    333 Camden, NJ mtr div 21.9         35.3 314 (19)
    334 Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA  NECTA Division 21.5           7.2 249 (85)
    335 Palm Coast, FL 21.1           0.8 244 (91)
    336 Albuquerque, NM 20.4         17.3 231 (105)
    337 Wausau, WI 20.3         14.5 289 (48)
    338 Corvallis, OR 19.8           3.1 342 4
    339 Stockton, CA 19.2         17.1 189 (150)
    340 Decatur, IL 18.7         10.1 133 (207)
    341 Calvert-Charles-Prince George’s, MD 17.8           8.5 335 (6)
    342 Tallahassee, FL 17.4           3.3 348 6
    343 Wichita Falls, TX 16.9           5.3 347 4
    344 Pascagoula, MS 16.5         13.3 275 (69)
    345 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL 16.1           3.2 329 (16)
    346 Eugene-Springfield, OR 14.6         12.1 353 7
    347 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 14.1         29.5 316 (31)
    348 Fort Smith, AR-OK 13.3         18.8 354 6
    349 Binghamton, NY 11.3         12.7 332 (17)
    350 Huntsville, AL 11.2         22.1 351 1
    351 Tyler, TX 11.2           5.3 338 (13)
    352 Bismarck, ND 9.1           1.7 339 (13)
    353 Dalton, GA 7.3         20.8 343 (10)
    354 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 7.3           2.1 259 (95)
    355 Dothan, AL 6.6           4.7 355 0
    356 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 1.3           8.8 341 (15)
    357 Laredo, TX 0.7           0.7 185 (172)

  • America’s New Manufacturing Boomtowns

    Conventional wisdom for a generation has been that manufacturing in America is dying. Yet over the past five years, the country has experienced something of an industrial renaissance. We may be far from replacing the 3 million industrial jobs lost in the recession, but the economy has added over 330,000 industrial jobs since 2010, with output growing at the fastest pace since the 1990s.

    Looking across the country, it is clear that industrial expansion has been a key element in boosting some of our most successful local economies. The large metro areas with the most momentum in expanding their manufacturing sectors also rank highly on our list of the cities that are generating the most jobs overall, including Houston-Sugarland-Baytown, Texas, which places first on our list of the big metro areas that are creating the most manufacturing jobs; Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. (third); Oklahoma City, Okla. (fourth), Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn. (No. 6); Ft. Worth, Texas (No. 9); and Salt Lake City, Utah (No. 10).

    Our rankings factor in manufacturing employment growth over the long-term (2001-12), mid-term (2007-12) and the last two years, as well as momentum. They identify those places where the market tells us the best storylines for manufacturing are being written.

    Best Cities for Manufacturing Jobs

    The Energy Boom and Industrial Growth

    What is striking about this revival is both its sectoral and geographic diversity. For Houston, the booming energy industry is driving job growth in metal fabrication, machinery and chemicals. Since 2009, Houston industrial employment has grown 15%, almost three times as fast as the overall economy. Of course, industrial growth also tends to create jobs in other sectors, notably construction and professional and business services.

    Much the same pattern of energy-driven growth can be seen in Oklahoma City, where the number of industrial jobs is also up 15% since 2009. This dynamic is also occurring in smaller metro areas. Energy cities did particularly well on our ranking of mid-sized metro areas (those with between 150,000 and 450,000 jobs overall), including third-place Lafayette, La.; Tulsa, Okla (fifth); Anchorage (sixth); Baton Rouge, La. (eighth); Bakersfield-Delano, Calif. (No. 13); and Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas (No. 14).

    On our small cities list (under 150,000 jobs), two energy cities stand out, No. 4 Odessa and No. 7 Midland.

    The Great Lakes Revival

    The other big story in manufacturing has been the recovery of the auto industry. Essentially we see two parallel expansions, one based around the revival of U.S. automakers and their suppliers, particularly around the Great Lakes, and another that’s keyed by foreign-based firms, particularly in the Mid-South and Southeast.

    Among the larger metro areas, the star of the U.S.-led recovery is No. 5 Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich., an area that is widely known as “automation alley.” This region epitomizes the transition of manufacturing to more automated, high-tech production methods. After decades of losses, the area’s industrial employment increased 26% from 2009 through 2012.

    More hopeful still has been the industrial recovery of the quintessential factory region, Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, No. 8 on our large metro area list. The Detroit resurgence is for real, with manufacturing employment up 18% since 2009. The industrial expansion has also sparked high-tech employment growth across Michigan that in 2010-2011 stood at almost 7% compared to 2.6% nationwide.

    Another big winner from the auto rebound has been Louisville-Jefferson County, Ky., No. 2 on our large cities list. Industrial employment in the area has expanded nearly 15% since 2009. Smaller cities in the region have also staged an impressive recovery. Columbus, Ind., No. 1 on our small city list, is benefiting from the growth of auto suppliers such as PMG Group as well as the expansion of a nearby Honda facility.

    The South Rises Again

    Many “progressive” intellectuals love to hate the South. The region, industrializing rapidly for decades, took a big hit when the recession devastated the manufacturing sector everywhere.

    But more recently many Southern areas have enjoyed considerable growth in a host of industries, from petrochemicals and autos to aerospace. This can be seen in two of the South’s largest metropolitan regions, Nashville, Tenn. (No. 6 on our list), and Virginia Beach, Va. (No. 7 ). In Nashville, much of the manufacturing job growth is auto-related, sparked in large part by the expansion of smaller plants and the nearby Nissan facilities.

    In contrast, Virginia Beach’s manufacturing job growth has been very diverse, reaching into fields as broad as fabricated metals and autos. Expanding investment from abroad, notably in aerospace and autos, has paced growth in other southern cities, notably Mobile, Ala., No. 1 in the mid-sized category, which has become a major production hub for Europe-based Airbus. Similarly, in Florence-Muscle Shoals, Ala., No. 3 on our small city list, industrial employment growth has been paced by the expansion of Navistar, as well as a host of smaller specialized manufacturers.

    Western Movement

    The West is often identified as a key high-tech and lifestyle mecca, but it also includes some of the nation’s top industrial growth centers. At the top of the pile sits No. 3 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, home to Microsoft, Amazon and Starbucks SBUX, but also the birthplace of Boeing and its primary manufacturing location. Although the aerospace giant has moved some production elsewhere, Seattle has enjoyed nearly 13% growth in manufacturing employment since 2009.

    But the Emerald City is not the only western hotspot for manufacturing growth. Aided by low hydro-electric energy prices — as much as a third less than historic rival California –Washington State boasts several thriving industrial areas. Kennewick-Pasco-Richland earned the No. 2 spot in our small city rankings while Wenatchee comes in at No. 11. Low energy prices helps attract firms in diverse industries ranging from metals to food processing.

    The other western manufacturing hotspot is Utah, which also has low energy prices and a favorable business climate. Salt Lake City, which is becoming a perennial on many of our lists, has enjoyed a rapid expansion of technology-driven manufacturing, most notably a huge Intel-Micron flash memory plant, aerospace and recreation sports equipment industries. Also in the Beehive State, Ogden-Clearfield ranks No. 8 on our mid-sized list.

    Who’s Losing Ground?

    The bottom of our list generally divides into two categories: long-declining industrial hubs and places that are starting to de-industrialize rapidly. In many ways California represents the antithesis of the other western manufacturing economies, with its lethal combination of high energy prices and strict regulation. According to the California Manufacturing and Technology Association, the Golden State lost a full third of its industrial base from 2001 to 2010, and has yet to participate in the nation’s industrial recovery. Since 2010, manufacturing employment nationwide has grown more than 4% while in California industrial jobs have barely grown.

    With the exception of oil-rich Bakersfield, no California metro area approaches the top rungs of our manufacturing list. Most worrisome is the poor performance of Los Angeles-Long Beach, which ranked 46th out of 66 large metro areas. Still the nation’s largest manufacturing region, L.A. has lost some 4.7% of its industrial jobs since 2010, declining as the nation’s factory economy surged forward. Doing even worse is neighboring San Bernardino-Riverside, traditionally where L.A. firms expand, ranking a dismal 64th.

    But not all the bad news is in California. The most poorly performing manufacturing metro areas include such old industrial hubs as Camden-Union, rock bottom at No. 66, which has lost 7% of its manufacturing jobs since 2009 and a remarkable 23% since 2007. Both No. 62 Newark-Union, N.J., and No. 56 Rochester, N.Y., are also rapidly becoming industrial has-beens.

    Clearly America’s nascent industrial revival still has not reached many parts of the country. But given the evident relationship between growing economies generally and a vibrant manufacturing sector, perhaps more regions will place greater emphasis on industrial employment as they seek to recover from the Great Recession.

    Best Cities for Manufacturing Jobs

    2013  Mfg Rank – Large MSAs Area 2013 Weighted MFG INDEX 2012 MFG Employment (1000s) 2012  Mfg Rank – Large MSAs 2013 Mfg Rank Change from 2012
    1 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 87.1         248.3 4 3
    2 Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN 82.2           72.5 47 45
    3 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 80.4         169.9 1 (2)
    4 Oklahoma City, OK 79.1           35.6 2 (2)
    5 Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 77.2         143.3 5 0
    6 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN 75.7           70.4 48 42
    7 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 75.4           55.1 33 26
    8 Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Division 71.0           80.4 24 16
    9 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division 70.1           92.8 9 0
    10 Salt Lake City, UT 67.8           55.7 3 (7)
    11 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 64.9           47.0 7 (4)
    12 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 64.5           37.5 46 34
    13 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC 64.3           71.0 22 9
    14 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 59.5         119.5 10 (4)
    15 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 59.2         181.5 15 0
    16 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 59.2           51.1 8 (8)
    17 Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL Metropolitan Division 58.0           26.7 16 (1)
    18 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 57.7         156.5 11 (7)
    19 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 57.4           31.6 14 (5)
    20 Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 56.9         158.0 20 0
    21 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 56.6         117.8 43 22
    22 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO 56.3           63.4 34 12
    23 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN 55.3           83.7 50 27
    24 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 54.8         114.7 19 (5)
    25 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN 54.7         106.0 6 (19)
    26 Pittsburgh, PA 54.1           89.3 28 2
    27 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH 53.9         122.4 18 (9)
    28 Columbus, OH 53.0           65.6 21 (7)
    29 Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA 52.6           34.1 57 28
    30 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 52.5           93.1 29 (1)
    31 Honolulu, HI 52.4           10.8 36 5
    32 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 51.6         148.8 25 (7)
    33 Raleigh-Cary, NC 51.2           27.2 45 12
    34 Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 50.9         324.7 26 (8)
    35 Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division 49.3           73.4 35 0
    36 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 49.0           50.9 12 (24)
    37 Jacksonville, FL 47.6           28.0 53 16
    38 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 47.2           91.5 23 (15)
    39 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT NECTA 46.7           56.8 27 (12)
    40 Bergen-Hudson-Passaic, NJ 46.5           60.2 17 (23)
    41 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 44.9           36.2 37 (4)
    42 Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 43.5           79.9 44 2
    43 St. Louis, MO-IL 42.0         109.0 31 (12)
    44 Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA NECTA 41.6           50.8 36 (8)
    45 Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 40.9         164.2 30 (15)
    46 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 40.8         362.7 49 3
    47 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 40.2           43.7 42 (5)
    48 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV 39.0           20.2 51 3
    49 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 38.7           37.7 40 (9)
    50 Philadelphia City, PA 38.6           23.1 55 5
    51 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL Metropolitan Division 37.1           15.2 56 5
    52 New York City, NY 35.7           75.2 58 6
    53 Edison-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division 34.0           58.4 64 11
    54 Richmond, VA 33.9           31.9 65 11
    55 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 33.3           58.9 41 (14)
    56 Rochester, NY 32.9           57.9 32 (24)
    57 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA 32.1           29.8 38 (19)
    58 Northern Virginia, VA 30.7           21.9 39 (19)
    59 Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD Metropolitan Division 30.5           15.8 54 (5)
    60 Kansas City, MO 29.6           37.8 13 (47)
    61 Putnam-Rockland-Westchester, NY 27.7           24.5 63 2
    62 Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 27.5           63.4 52 (10)
    63 Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division 26.8           35.0 59 (4)
    64 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 25.5           86.4 62 (2)
    65 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 24.6           32.0 61 (4)
    66 Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division 21.9           35.3 60 (6)

    Manufacturing rankings by Michael Shires.

    Joel Kotkin is executive editor of NewGeography.com and a distinguished presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University, and a member of the editorial board of the Orange County Register. He is author of The City: A Global History and The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050. His most recent study, The Rise of Postfamilialism, has been widely discussed and distributed internationally. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.

    Michael Shires, Ph.D. is a professor at Pepperdine University School of Public Policy.

    This piece originally appeared at Forbes.com.

    by Angry Aspie.

    May 15, 2013

  • The 2013 Best Cities For Job Growth

    The 2013 edition of our list shows many things, but perhaps the most important is which cities have momentum in the job creation sweepstakes. Right now the biggest winners are the metro areas that are adding higher-wage jobs thanks to America’s two big boom sectors: technology and energy.

    Our rankings are based on short, medium and long-term employment performance, and take into account both growth and momentum — whether growth is slowing or accelerating. (For a detailed description of our methodology, click here.) Consequently, areas that have made the strongest recoveries from deep setbacks often do well. Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of the San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City metropolitan division, our top-ranked large metro area (urban regions with more than 450,000 jobs). Over the last year, employment in the San Francisco area expanded a remarkable 4.1%, and is up 3.3% since 2008.

    A decade ago, the San Francisco area was reeling from the collapse of the last dot-com bubble; the damage was so deep that today it has only 0.6% more jobs than in 2001. Its sharp recent growth is primarily in the information sector, which has expanded a torrid 21.3% since 2009.

    Much the same can be said about San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, better known as Silicon Valley, which is No. 7 on our large metro area list due to 3.4% job growth last year, and 2.3% growth since 2008; it is also propelled by 25% growth in information jobs since 2007. Yet looking at the longer term, the Valley, like San Francisco, is still rebounding from a deep downturn connected to the dot-com disaster of a decade ago. In fact, the Valley is still down almost 40,000 jobs from 2001.

    Is California Pulling Ahead Of Texas?

    Some East Coast boosters of the Golden State are making this claim, but we don’t see it in this year’s numbers. Besides the tech-rich Bay Area, home to two of our top 10 large metro areas, there are no other major California cities near the top. Most of the state’s big metros are in the poor to middling range over the long term; only Riverside-San Bernardino (45th place on our big cities list) has 10% more jobs than a decade ago. Los Angeles, the state’s dominant urban region, has lost some 120,000 jobs since 2001.

    In contrast, the Texas juggernaut rolls on. Growth there has not only been steady, it’s been widely spread across the state. Texas boasts a remarkable four major metros in our top 10, led by Ft. Worth-Arlington (No. 4), Houston-Sugarland-Baytown (No. 5), Dallas-Plano-Irving (No. 6 ) and Austin-Round Rock, which slips from first place last year to 10th. The state’s other big city, San Antonio, comes in at a very healthy No. 12.

    All these metro areas have more jobs than they did a decade ago — often a lot more. Since 2001, employment in Houston has expanded 20%; in Ft. Worth, it’s up roughly 16%; Dallas; 11%; Austin, a remarkable 26.5%; and San Antonio, 18.4%.

    The Energy Boomtowns

    The unconventional oil and gas boom has helped turn Texas into an economic juggernaut, particularly world energy capital Houston, but growth has also been strong in tech, manufacturing and business services. You see this same kind of blending of energy and other sectors in other strong growth economies elsewhere in the U.S., such as No. 3 Salt Lake City, No. 9 Denver and No. 15 Oklahoma City.

    But the real evidence of energy’s power can be seen in smaller metro areas. Oil-rich Midland, Texas, places first on our list of smaller metro areas (those with less than 150,000 jobs) and also first overall among the country’s 398 metropolitan areas. Nipping at its heels in second place in both categories is Odessa, Texas. On our medium-size cities list, energy towns with strong growth include No. 4 Corpus Christi, Texas; No. 5 Bakersfield, Calif.; and No. 6 Lafayette, La.

    Affordability + Quality of Life = Success

    But you don’t have to be a huge tech hub or energy capital to generate new jobs. The No. 2-ranked place in our big metro ranking, Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn., reflects the power of economic diversity coupled with ample cultural amenities, pro-business policies and a mild climate. Nashville’s 3.8% expansion in employment last year, and 7% growth since 2008, has been propelled by business services, education and health. There’s also been a recent recovery in manufacturing, up over 9% last year, as well as retail and wholesale trade. Like the Texas cities, Nashville has registered long-term growth as well, with 112,000 jobs added since 2001, a nice 16.6% increase.

    Much the same can be said about Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C., No. 8 on our big city list, whose job base grew 3.3% last year. Virtually every business sector has been on the rebound since 2009, including financial services, despite Bank of America’s continuing troubles. Overall the local economy has added 100,000 jobs since 2001, up almost 13%.

    Steady, diverse growth can be seen in other low-cost and business-friendly towns such as our No. 11 big metro area, Raleigh Cary, N.C.; No. 13 Columbus, Ohio; and No. 15 Indianapolis. The shift towards stronger growth in areas away from the coasts has continued, at least in the more attractive metro areas.

    Who Doesn’t Have It?

    Of course, any list has its share of losers as well as winners. Sadly this includes long-suffering old industrial cities such as our last-placed big metro area, Newark-Union, N.J., which is followed, in order, by Saint Louis, MO-IL; Cleveland-Elyria- Mentor, Ohio; and Providence-Fall River-Warwick RI-MA. All but Providence, which stayed about even, slipped from last year’s rankings.

    But not all factory towns are headed in the wrong direction. No.  51 Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn advanced an impressive 11 places from last year’s list. The key here has not been the much talked about attempt to turn downtown Detroit into a cool place, but the resurgence of the auto industry. Manufacturing employment, concentrated in the region’s suburbs, is up over 18% since 2009 after decades of tumultuous losses.

    Also flailing a bit have been many of our largest, and most often celebrated, metros. Believe it or not, Detroit comes in one place ahead of Chicago-Joliet-Naperville ,Ill., which continues to promote itself as one of the nation’s great comeback stories, but in reality has continued to lose ground. You can tell the same tale about No. 46 Philadelphia, Pa., No. 41 Portland-Hillsboro-Vancouver OR-WA, and No. 37 Miami, which dropped a staggering 16 places despite the much celebrated recovery of its condo market. Selling to South America flight capital (legal or otherwise) and sun-deprived Europeans does not seem to be doing enough to revive the region’s overall economic vigor.

    There are also some signs that the big beneficiaries of the Bernanke-Obama-Bush economic policy may be losing some momentum. New York City, the major winner from the “too big to fail” banking bailout, fell seven places from last year to No. 18. Even Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C., the nation’s prime beneficiary of crony capitalism and fiscal bloat, has lost steam, falling 10 places to No. 26 — a big decline from its No. 6 rankings in 2010 and 2011. We are usually loath to celebrate declines, but Washington’s loss, reflecting a slowdown in government growth, may be evidence that some equilibrium between the public and private sectors is slowly being restored.

    Joel Kotkin is executive editor of NewGeography.com and a distinguished presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University, and a member of the editorial board of the Orange County Register. He is author of The City: A Global History and The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050. His most recent study, The Rise of Postfamilialism, has been widely discussed and distributed internationally. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.

    Michael Shires, Ph.D. is a professor at Pepperdine University School of Public Policy.

    This piece originally appeared at Forbes.com.

  • 2013 How We Pick the Best Cities For Job Growth

    Read about how we selected the 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth
    View the interactive map

    The methodology for the 2013 rankings largely corresponds to that used in previous years, which emphasizes the robustness of a region’s growth both recently and over time.  It allows the rankings to include all of the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports monthly employment data. They are derived from three-month rolling averages of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics "state and area" unadjusted employment data reported from November 2001 to January 2013.

    The data reflect the North American Industry Classification System categories, including total nonfarm employment, manufacturing, financial services, business and professional services, educational and health services, information, retail and wholesale trade, transportation and utilities, leisure and hospitality, and government.

    This year’s rankings use four measures of growth to rank all 398 metro areas for which full data sets were available from the past 10 years.  "Large" areas include those with a current nonfarm employment base of at least 450,000 jobs. "Midsize" areas range from 150,000 to 450,000 jobs. "Small" areas have as many as 150,000 jobs.  This year’s rankings reflect the current size of each MSA’s employment.   Only two MSAs changed size categories, with Honolulu, HI moving from “Midsized” to “Large” and Savannah, GA moving from “Small” to “Midsized.” In the instances where the analysis refers to changes in ranking order within the size categories, these two MSA’s changes are reported as if they had been included in their current category in the prior year.

    The index is calculated from a normalized, weighted summary of: 1) recent growth trend: the current and prior year’s employment growth rates, with the current year emphasized (two points); 2) mid-term growth: the average annual 2007-2012 growth rate (two points); 3) long-term trend and momentum: the sum of the 2007-2012 and 2001-2006 employment growth rates multiplied by the ratio of the 2001-2006 growth rate over the 2007-2012 growth rate (two points); and 4) current year growth (one point).

  • All Cities Rankings – 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth

    Read about how we selected the 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth
    View the interactive map

    This year’s rankings use four measures of growth to rank all 398 metro areas for which full data sets were available from the past 10 years. "Large" areas include those with a current nonfarm employment base of at least 450,000 jobs. "Midsize" areas range from 150,000 to 450,000 jobs. "Small" areas have as many as 150,000 jobs. This year’s rankings reflect the current size of each MSA’s employment. Only two MSAs changed size categories, with Honolulu, HI moving from “Midsized” to “Large” and Savannah, GA moving from “Small” to “Midsized.” In the instances where the analysis refers to changes in ranking order within the size categories, these two MSA’s changes are reported as if they had been included in their current category in the prior year.

    2013
    Overall Ranking    		 Area 2013 Weighted INDEX  2012 Nonfarm Employment (1000s)  2012 Overall Rank  Overal Movement
    1 Midland, TX 100.0 83.6 2 1
    2 Odessa, TX 100.0 74.2 1 -1
    3 Columbus, IN 98.5 49.8 3 0
    4 Cleveland, TN 93.9 43.8 372 368
    5 San Angelo, TX 88.3 47.0 7 2
    6 Owensboro, KY 87.1 53.4 28 22
    7 Boulder, CO 86.2 171.2 56 49
    8 Jonesboro, AR 85.5 52.0 146 138
    9 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 84.7 1016.2 85 76
    10 Williamsport, PA 84.6 57.1 11 1
    11 Provo-Orem, UT 83.9 198.0 47 36
    12 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 81.9 215.1 107 95
    13 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 81.8 104.1 327 314
    14 Auburn-Opelika, AL 81.7 56.4 103 89
    15 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN 81.4 802.5 45 30
    16 Salt Lake City, UT 81.1 656.3 22 6
    17 Barnstable Town, MA NECTA 81.1 95.9 34 17
    18 Napa, CA 81.0 64.3 142 124
    19 Corpus Christi, TX 80.9 187.0 6 -13
    20 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division 80.5 915.0 37 17
    21 Winchester, VA-WV 80.1 58.6 77 56
    22 Bakersfield-Delano, CA 79.9 243.8 51 29
    23 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 79.2 2740.8 8 -15
    24 Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 79.1 2156.0 39 15
    25 Cheyenne, WY 78.5 45.6 32 7
    26 Lafayette, IN 78.5 98.1 53 27
    27 Greenville, NC 78.2 81.9 148 121
    28 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 78.1 918.5 38 10
    29 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA 78.0 72.7 9 -20
    30 Portsmouth, NH-ME NECTA 77.8 55.8 18 -12
    31 Billings, MT 77.5 81.9 281 250
    32 Laredo, TX 77.5 95.8 14 -18
    33 Victoria, TX 77.4 52.6 42 9
    34 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC 77.1 865.8 96 62
    35 Lafayette, LA 77.1 157.3 4 -31
    36 Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, MA-NH  NECTA Division 76.5 80.3 83 47
    37 Muncie, IN 76.5 52.6 300 263
    38 Greeley, CO 76.3 84.5 79 41
    39 Holland-Grand Haven, MI 75.9 113.1 19 -20
    40 Fargo, ND-MN 75.6 131.4 25 -15
    41 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO 75.6 1258.2 74 33
    42 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 75.0 837.9 5 -37
    43 Lexington-Fayette, KY 74.7 260.0 236 193
    44 Sioux Falls, SD 74.6 140.9 87 43
    45 Raleigh-Cary, NC 74.5 526.6 40 -5
    46 New Bedford, MA NECTA 74.3 67.5 262 216
    47 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 73.8 390.2 64 17
    48 Baton Rouge, LA 73.2 380.7 124 76
    49 Longview, TX 72.9 101.7 35 -14
    50 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 72.7 140.3 59 9
    51 Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC 72.2 304.4 29 -22
    52 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 72.1 103.7 172 120
    53 Casper, WY 72.0 41.1 10 -43
    54 Bismarck, ND 71.9 67.6 21 -33
    55 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA 71.7 96.2 23 -32
    56 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 71.4 883.8 99 43
    57 Kansas City, KS 71.3 446.9 86 29
    58 Lubbock, TX 71.3 130.8 13 -45
    59 Burlington-South Burlington, VT NECTA 71.2 117.8 113 54
    60 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 71.2 233.6 20 -40
    61 Grand Forks, ND-MN 71.1 56.8 193 132
    62 Columbus, OH 71.0 957.3 112 50
    63 Clarksville, TN-KY 71.0 87.6 117 54
    64 Manhattan, KS 70.9 57.7 269 205
    65 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 70.8 1459.5 68 3
    66 Merced, CA 70.7 58.6 173 107
    67 Oklahoma City, OK 70.7 600.0 48 -19
    68 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN 70.6 918.6 164 96
    69 Columbia, MO 70.4 97.4 15 -54
    70 Jackson, TN 70.1 61.8 338 268
    71 Springfield, MO 70.0 200.0 149 78
    72 Ann Arbor, MI 69.7 207.0 108 36
    73 Dubuque, IA 69.4 59.1 95 22
    74 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 69.0 1745.5 139 65
    75 Lake Charles, LA 68.9 92.2 326 251
    76 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA 68.4 171.0 116 40
    77 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 68.3 132.8 71 -6
    78 Waco, TX 68.2 108.0 229 151
    79 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 68.1 201.6 175 96
    80 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 68.1 285.9 92 12
    81 Spartanburg, SC 68.0 124.8 298 217
    82 El Centro, CA 67.8 46.7 189 107
    83 Rochester, MN 67.7 105.9 284 201
    84 Boise City-Nampa, ID 67.5 267.7 235 151
    85 Asheville, NC 67.5 173.9 75 -10
    86 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 67.2 328.7 169 83
    87 St. Joseph, MO-KS 67.1 62.6 52 -35
    88 New York City, NY 66.9 3908.8 49 -39
    89 Trenton-Ewing, NJ 66.7 245.7 89 0
    90 Harrisonburg, VA 66.7 64.9 105 15
    91 Northern Virginia, VA 66.7 1364.8 50 -41
    92 Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN 66.3 618.5 132 40
    93 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA 66.3 92.5 63 -30
    94 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA 65.9 39.1 104 10
    95 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 65.7 1780.8 176 81
    96 Lincoln, NE 65.6 177.8 81 -15
    97 Morgantown, WV 65.5 67.7 60 -37
    98 St. Cloud, MN 65.3 102.1 131 33
    99 Abilene, TX 65.0 67.2 264 165
    100 Bowling Green, KY 64.7 62.4 160 60
    101 Kokomo, IN 64.2 42.4 226 125
    102 Peabody, MA  NECTA Division 63.9 102.5 101 -1
    103 El Paso, TX 63.8 286.0 27 -76
    104 Visalia-Porterville, CA 63.5 110.5 335 231
    105 Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA  NECTA Division 63.3 89.7 272 167
    106 Jacksonville, NC 62.9 48.8 102 -4
    107 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 62.7 2381.0 157 50
    108 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL 62.7 78.6 61 -47
    109 Iowa City, IA 62.7 94.2 128 19
    110 Canton-Massillon, OH 62.6 167.2 90 -20
    111 Savannah, GA 62.5 157.9 299 188
    112 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA 62.4 535.0 62 -50
    113 Honolulu, HI 62.0 454.7 194 81
    114 Richmond, VA 62.0 625.8 135 21
    115 Elkhart-Goshen, IN 61.9 113.6 178 63
    116 Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI 61.9 61.6 219 103
    117 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 61.7 2485.6 78 -39
    118 Palm Coast, FL 61.5 20.2 72 -46
    119 Bay City, MI 61.4 37.1 136 17
    120 Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX 61.3 130.3 44 -76
    121 Ithaca, NY 61.2 68.1 304 183
    122 Reading, PA 61.1 172.2 118 -4
    123 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 61.1 1272.7 196 73
    124 Lebanon, PA 60.9 51.5 163 39
    125 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 60.9 1174.4 171 46
    126 Eau Claire, WI 60.9 83.0 278 152
    127 Danville, VA 60.8 40.9 126 -1
    128 Anchorage, AK 60.8 176.3 161 33
    129 Anderson, IN 60.6 40.7 277 148
    130 Mankato-North Mankato, MN 60.6 53.9 80 -50
    131 Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division 60.6 1269.4 120 -11
    132 Battle Creek, MI 60.2 56.3 266 134
    133 Pittsburgh, PA 60.1 1160.5 43 -90
    134 La Crosse, WI-MN 59.6 75.5 191 57
    135 Missoula, MT 59.1 56.2 331 196
    136 Macon, GA 59.0 99.0 239 103
    137 Green Bay, WI 58.7 169.4 156 19
    138 Tuscaloosa, AL 58.6 96.8 287 149
    139 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 58.5 345.6 110 -29
    140 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 58.3 1052.4 208 68
    141 Flagstaff, AZ 58.1 62.3 354 213
    142 Sherman-Denison, TX 57.7 43.3 55 -87
    143 Jacksonville, FL 57.5 606.5 204 61
    144 Edison-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division 57.5 1007.2 282 138
    145 St. George, UT 57.4 49.2 251 106
    146 Framingham, MA  NECTA Division 57.1 158.9 84 -62
    147 Knoxville, TN 57.0 334.1 33 -114
    148 Wilmington, NC 56.9 138.1 312 164
    149 Baltimore City, MD 56.8 360.1 67 -82
    150 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 56.7 90.9 215 65
    151 Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, SC 56.6 111.1 185 34
    152 Tulsa, OK 56.5 427.0 153 1
    153 Corvallis, OR 56.5 39.2 203 50
    154 Fort Wayne, IN 56.4 208.5 150 -4
    155 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 56.4 468.1 119 -36
    156 Logan, UT-ID 56.2 55.2 97 -59
    157 Ocean City, NJ 55.9 35.2 26 -131
    158 Fairbanks, AK 55.7 38.3 165 7
    159 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD 55.6 74.8 216 57
    160 Amarillo, TX 55.5 113.1 70 -90
    161 Gainesville, GA 55.4 74.9 17 -144
    162 Lawrence, KS 55.3 51.7 316 154
    163 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC 55.3 309.3 88 -75
    164 Gainesville, FL 55.1 131.5 333 169
    165 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 54.9 445.0 223 58
    166 Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD Metropolitan Division 54.4 572.1 230 64
    167 Naples-Marco Island, FL 54.3 120.2 192 25
    168 Colorado Springs, CO 54.0 252.7 260 92
    169 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 54.0 747.8 247 78
    170 Elizabethtown, KY 53.9 48.8 188 18
    171 Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division 53.7 1037.7 111 -60
    172 Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH  NECTA Division 53.6 118.8 106 -66
    173 Ames, IA 53.5 48.5 93 -80
    174 Columbia, SC 53.3 355.9 158 -16
    175 Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 53.1 121.1 206 31
    176 Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 53.1 1416.5 242 66
    177 Oshkosh-Neenah, WI 52.8 93.1 82 -95
    178 Kankakee-Bradley, IL 52.8 44.1 147 -31
    179 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 52.8 1793.0 227 48
    180 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 52.6 211.9 228 48
    181 Tyler, TX 52.6 94.7 31 -150
    182 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL Metropolitan Division 52.4 528.5 308 126
    183 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 52.4 1010.3 137 -46
    184 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 52.1 249.5 292 108
    185 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 51.9 325.7 222 37
    186 Cedar Rapids, IA 51.8 140.8 246 60
    187 Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL Metropolitan Division 51.7 743.2 291 104
    188 Peoria, IL 51.6 183.6 66 -122
    189 Idaho Falls, ID 51.4 49.7 240 51
    190 Glens Falls, NY 51.3 53.7 12 -178
    191 Fayetteville, NC 51.1 130.0 58 -133
    192 Topeka, KS 51.1 109.8 263 71
    193 Joplin, MO 51.1 80.6 122 -71
    194 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY 50.9 253.8 115 -79
    195 Pueblo, CO 50.8 58.8 54 -141
    196 Akron, OH 50.7 327.3 296 100
    197 Danbury, CT NECTA 50.5 68.8 98 -99
    198 Athens-Clarke County, GA 50.5 88.8 244 46
    199 College Station-Bryan, TX 50.4 97.5 167 -32
    200 Hattiesburg, MS 50.2 60.5 294 94
    201 Spokane, WA 50.2 209.7 319 118
    202 Yakima, WA 50.2 76.7 198 -4
    203 Rochester, NY 50.2 513.9 91 -112
    204 State College, PA 50.1 75.4 24 -180
    205 Bloomington-Normal, IL 49.9 91.1 256 51
    206 Manchester, NH NECTA 49.8 99.8 151 -55
    207 Cumberland, MD-WV 49.5 39.8 16 -191
    208 Jackson, MS 49.5 259.0 134 -74
    209 Sumter, SC 49.4 37.3 373 164
    210 Rapid City, SD 49.3 60.4 73 -137
    211 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 49.1 343.5 182 -29
    212 Winston-Salem, NC 49.0 207.4 259 47
    213 Grand Junction, CO 49.0 60.6 46 -167
    214 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 48.9 548.2 183 -31
    215 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 48.7 1174.1 276 61
    216 York-Hanover, PA 48.6 179.1 121 -95
    217 Roanoke, VA 48.5 159.1 310 93
    218 Bangor, ME NECTA 48.5 65.7 224 6
    219 Hot Springs, AR 48.4 37.5 271 52
    220 Warner Robins, GA 48.4 59.4 174 -46
    221 Chattanooga, TN-GA 48.2 237.0 249 28
    222 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 48.2 163.5 325 103
    223 Lancaster, PA 48.2 230.5 248 25
    224 Philadelphia City, PA 48.1 663.8 211 -13
    225 Appleton, WI 48.1 117.5 155 -70
    226 Port St. Lucie, FL 48.1 125.1 346 120
    227 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 47.9 182.7 347 120
    228 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 47.8 281.9 280 52
    229 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT NECTA 47.7 547.7 152 -77
    230 Tacoma, WA Metropolitan Division 47.4 271.0 234 4
    231 Madison, WI 47.0 348.7 218 -13
    232 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 46.8 215.3 265 33
    233 Modesto, CA 46.6 148.6 356 123
    234 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 46.4 157.2 258 24
    235 Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 46.2 1111.5 199 -36
    236 Worcester, MA-CT NECTA 46.1 244.7 166 -70
    237 Monroe, LA 45.9 77.2 201 -36
    238 Duluth, MN-WI 45.6 129.9 364 126
    239 Valdosta, GA 45.6 54.0 322 83
    240 Springfield, IL 45.5 111.4 141 -99
    241 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 45.5 3912.7 355 114
    242 Madera-Chowchilla, CA 45.5 33.2 352 110
    243 Columbus, GA-AL 45.4 119.8 76 -167
    244 Stockton, CA 45.4 191.9 286 42
    245 Tucson, AZ 45.3 366.3 288 43
    246 Altoona, PA 45.1 60.9 100 -146
    247 Great Falls, MT 44.9 35.2 303 56
    248 Olympia, WA 44.8 99.1 129 -119
    249 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA 44.8 256.9 170 -79
    250 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV 44.8 833.9 313 63
    251 Fresno, CA 44.7 284.6 267 16
    252 Rochester-Dover, NH-ME NECTA 44.7 56.2 123 -129
    253 Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR 44.6 57.1 65 -188
    254 Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Division 44.5 715.4 363 109
    255 Cape Girardeau-Jackson, MO-IL 44.5 44.1 367 112
    256 Lawton, OK 44.2 43.6 274 18
    257 New Haven, CT NECTA 44.2 271.3 225 -32
    258 Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 44.1 3731.6 245 -13
    259 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 44.1 160.6 270 11
    260 Evansville, IN-KY 44.0 176.1 109 -151
    261 Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL 44.0 55.6 252 -9
    262 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 43.8 605.6 202 -60
    263 Longview, WA 43.8 36.0 375 112
    264 Las Cruces, NM 43.7 69.1 140 -124
    265 Chico, CA 43.1 69.4 365 100
    266 Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division 42.2 509.8 324 58
    267 Bergen-Hudson-Passaic, NJ 42.2 888.1 220 -47
    268 Hanford-Corcoran, CA 42.1 35.3 36 -232
    269 Ocala, FL 42.0 93.4 345 76
    270 Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 41.9 992.8 374 104
    271 Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA 41.7 824.8 358 87
    272 Gary, IN Metropolitan Division 41.7 272.2 232 -40
    273 Erie, PA 41.6 130.1 57 -216
    274 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN 41.5 1000.1 205 -69
    275 Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division 41.4 383.5 311 36
    276 Johnstown, PA 41.3 60.2 243 -33
    277 Salisbury, MD 41.3 52.8 210 -67
    278 Huntsville, AL 41.3 209.4 255 -23
    279 Hinesville-Fort Stewart, GA 41.1 19.6 138 -141
    280 Yuma, AZ 41.0 52.2 376 96
    281 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA 40.9 120.1 257 -24
    282 Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME NECTA 40.6 190.1 273 -9
    283 Johnson City, TN 40.3 79.3 94 -189
    284 Bellingham, WA 40.2 80.9 159 -125
    285 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 39.3 44.2 275 -10
    286 Prescott, AZ 39.3 55.9 371 85
    287 Yuba City, CA 39.2 37.1 231 -56
    288 Putnam-Rockland-Westchester, NY 39.0 562.3 133 -155
    289 Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division 38.6 336.9 339 50
    290 Nashua, NH-MA  NECTA Division 38.2 126.1 349 59
    291 Lynchburg, VA 38.1 103.2 344 53
    292 Brunswick, GA 38.0 40.6 382 90
    293 Punta Gorda, FL 37.8 42.4 209 -84
    294 Reno-Sparks, NV 37.7 192.5 343 49
    295 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA 37.5 98.2 41 -254
    296 Charlottesville, VA 37.4 99.8 30 -266
    297 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 37.3 822.5 307 10
    298 Bloomington, IN 37.3 82.4 309 11
    299 Rockford, IL 37.3 149.1 253 -46
    300 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 37.2 501.1 384 84
    301 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 36.7 194.7 351 50
    302 Coeur d’Alene, ID 36.5 52.7 114 -188
    303 Wheeling, WV-OH 36.4 66.3 238 -65
    304 Bend, OR 36.4 61.5 337 33
    305 Syracuse, NY 36.3 316.1 237 -68
    306 Montgomery, AL 36.1 167.1 359 53
    307 Toledo, OH 36.0 305.8 301 -6
    308 Calvert-Charles-Prince George’s, MD 35.6 378.5 190 -118
    309 Charleston, WV 35.6 146.6 180 -129
    310 Salinas, CA 35.5 122.7 143 -167
    311 Pittsfield, MA NECTA 35.4 35.2 330 19
    312 Lewiston-Auburn, ME NECTA 34.9 48.1 144 -168
    313 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 33.9 173.3 389 76
    314 Kansas City, MO 33.9 549.5 212 -102
    315 Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA NECTA 33.8 547.2 380 65
    316 Janesville, WI 33.8 62.4 396 80
    317 Florence, SC 33.7 84.0 213 -104
    318 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 33.4 196.7 342 24
    319 Terre Haute, IN 33.4 71.6 370 51
    320 Medford, OR 32.9 76.2 340 20
    321 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH 32.7 1015.9 361 40
    322 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 32.6 175.5 125 -197
    323 Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI 32.6 86.1 306 -17
    324 Pocatello, ID 32.2 35.9 297 -27
    325 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 32.0 114.2 268 -57
    326 Rome, GA 32.0 39.0 387 61
    327 Salem, OR 31.9 141.5 318 -9
    328 St. Louis, MO-IL 31.7 1301.5 302 -26
    329 Panama City-Lynn Haven-Panama City Beach, FL 31.0 70.0 200 -129
    330 Pascagoula, MS 30.9 55.1 254 -76
    331 Albany, GA 30.9 61.4 393 62
    332 Tallahassee, FL 30.7 166.4 289 -43
    333 Eugene-Springfield, OR 30.2 141.9 379 46
    334 Anderson, SC 30.1 61.5 378 44
    335 Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL 30.0 45.5 168 -167
    336 Farmington, NM 29.8 48.8 186 -150
    337 Gadsden, AL 29.7 36.4 341 4
    338 Lewiston, ID-WA 29.4 25.8 241 -97
    339 Santa Fe, NM 29.3 60.3 207 -132
    340 Springfield, OH 29.1 49.9 181 -159
    341 Mobile, AL 28.6 174.2 261 -80
    342 Greensboro-High Point, NC 28.4 343.6 328 -14
    343 Fort Smith, AR-OK 28.3 116.6 385 42
    344 Jefferson City, MO 28.2 75.9 217 -127
    345 Goldsboro, NC 28.2 42.9 162 -183
    346 Alexandria, LA 27.6 62.7 295 -51
    347 Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, MA NECTA 27.3 48.2 377 30
    348 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT NECTA 27.2 404.2 305 -43
    349 Albuquerque, NM 26.8 366.8 293 -56
    350 Burlington, NC 26.8 58.8 145 -205
    351 Danville, IL 26.7 29.6 321 -30
    352 Dover, DE 26.6 63.1 177 -175
    353 Fond du Lac, WI 25.5 45.5 283 -70
    354 Bremerton-Silverdale, WA 25.3 81.4 315 -39
    355 Lansing-East Lansing, MI 25.2 218.0 127 -228
    356 Dayton, OH 24.8 377.9 250 -106
    357 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 24.4 225.0 320 -37
    358 Champaign-Urbana, IL 24.3 106.9 394 36
    359 Anniston-Oxford, AL 23.8 48.0 383 24
    360 Dothan, AL 23.3 57.0 329 -31
    361 Wichita, KS 22.9 288.0 350 -11
    362 Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ 21.9 57.3 195 -167
    363 Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 21.5 980.8 334 -29
    364 Pine Bluff, AR 21.3 36.2 381 17
    365 Racine, WI 21.3 74.1 348 -17
    366 Elmira, NY 20.7 39.9 317 -49
    367 Sheboygan, WI 20.6 57.3 390 23
    368 Springfield, MA-CT NECTA 19.9 281.7 290 -78
    369 Morristown, TN 19.8 45.5 397 28
    370 Michigan City-La Porte, IN 19.8 42.8 360 -10
    371 Niles-Benton Harbor, MI 19.7 59.4 187 -184
    372 Jackson, MI 19.6 54.0 233 -139
    373 Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH 19.5 69.1 323 -50
    374 Wausau, WI 19.0 66.4 357 -17
    375 Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 18.6 44.7 362 -13
    376 Monroe, MI 18.1 38.5 392 16
    377 Redding, CA 17.4 56.5 279 -98
    378 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 16.8 134.5 221 -157
    379 Decatur, AL 16.8 54.4 197 -182
    380 Waterbury, CT NECTA 16.7 63.3 366 -14
    381 Utica-Rome, NY 16.7 127.9 69 -312
    382 Kingston, NY 16.5 60.4 179 -203
    383 Flint, MI 15.7 135.9 314 -69
    384 Wichita Falls, TX 15.3 58.6 369 -15
    385 Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 14.8 104.7 184 -201
    386 Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 14.7 136.4 386 0
    387 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 12.8 142.9 368 -19
    388 Lima, OH 11.1 51.6 285 -103
    389 Sandusky, OH 9.7 33.8 130 -259
    390 Norwich-New London, CT-RI NECTA 8.0 126.7 353 -37
    391 Binghamton, NY 7.8 107.2 214 -177
    392 Carson City, NV 7.0 27.6 395 3
    393 Mansfield, OH 5.9 52.0 332 -61
    394 Decatur, IL 5.4 51.2 154 -240
    395 Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV 5.2 43.5 391 -4
    396 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 2.9 130.2 336 -60
    397 Rocky Mount, NC 2.1 57.9 388 -9
    398 Dalton, GA 1.6 63.1 398 0

  • Large Cities Rankings – 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth

    Read about how we selected the 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth
    View the interactive map

    This year’s rankings use four measures of growth to rank all 398 metro areas for which full data sets were available from the past 10 years. "Large" areas include those with a current nonfarm employment base of at least 450,000 jobs. "Midsize" areas range from 150,000 to 450,000 jobs. "Small" areas have as many as 150,000 jobs. This year’s rankings reflect the current size of each MSA’s employment. Only two MSAs changed size categories, with Honolulu, HI moving from “Midsized” to “Large” and Savannah, GA moving from “Small” to “Midsized.” In the instances where the analysis refers to changes in ranking order within the size categories, these two MSA’s changes are reported as if they had been included in their current category in the prior year.

    2013  Rank Among Large Cities Area 2013 Weighted INDEX  2012 Nonfarm Employment (1000s)  Size Movement 2012 Size Ranking
    1 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 84.7 1016.2 16 17
    2 Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN 81.4 802.5 7 9
    3 Salt Lake City, UT 81.1 656.3 0 3
    4 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division 80.5 915.0 0 4
    5 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 79.2 2740.8 -3 2
    6 Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 79.1 2156.0 0 6
    7 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 78.1 918.5 -2 5
    8 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC 77.1 865.8 11 19
    9 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO 75.6 1258.2 6 15
    10 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX 75.0 837.9 -9 1
    11 Raleigh-Cary, NC 74.5 526.6 -4 7
    12 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 71.4 883.8 8 20
    13 Columbus, OH 71.0 957.3 9 22
    14 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division 70.8 1459.5 0 14
    15 Oklahoma City, OK 70.7 600.0 -5 10
    16 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN 70.6 918.6 16 32
    17 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 69.0 1745.5 12 29
    18 New York City, NY 66.9 3908.8 -7 11
    19 Northern Virginia, VA 66.7 1364.8 -7 12
    20 Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN 66.3 618.5 5 25
    21 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 65.7 1780.8 13 34
    22 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 62.7 2381.0 9 31
    23 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA 62.4 535.0 -10 13
    24 Honolulu, HI 62.0 454.7 12 36
    25 Richmond, VA 62.0 625.8 2 27
    26 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 61.7 2485.6 -10 16
    27 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA 61.1 1272.7 9 36
    28 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 60.9 1174.4 5 33
    29 Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division 60.6 1269.4 -5 24
    30 Pittsburgh, PA 60.1 1160.5 -22 8
    31 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 58.3 1052.4 10 41
    32 Jacksonville, FL 57.5 606.5 7 39
    33 Edison-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division 57.5 1007.2 18 51
    34 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 56.4 468.1 -11 23
    35 Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD Metropolitan Division 54.4 572.1 11 46
    36 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 54.0 747.8 13 49
    37 Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division 53.7 1037.7 -16 21
    38 Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division 53.1 1416.5 9 47
    39 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ 52.8 1793.0 6 45
    40 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL Metropolitan Division 52.4 528.5 15 55
    41 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 52.4 1010.3 -13 28
    42 Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL Metropolitan Division 51.7 743.2 10 52
    43 Rochester, NY 50.2 513.9 -25 18
    44 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY 48.9 548.2 -9 35
    45 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 48.7 1174.1 5 50
    46 Philadelphia City, PA 48.1 663.8 -4 42
    47 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT NECTA 47.7 547.7 -17 30
    48 Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division 46.2 1111.5 -11 37
    49 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 45.5 3912.7 10 59
    50 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV 44.8 833.9 6 56
    51 Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Division 44.5 715.4 11 62
    52 Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 44.1 3731.6 -4 48
    53 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 43.8 605.6 -15 38
    54 Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division 42.2 509.8 3 57
    55 Bergen-Hudson-Passaic, NJ 42.2 888.1 -11 44
    56 Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division 41.9 992.8 7 63
    57 Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA 41.7 824.8 3 60
    58 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN 41.5 1000.1 -18 40
    59 Putnam-Rockland-Westchester, NY 39.0 562.3 -33 26
    60 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 37.3 822.5 -6 54
    61 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 37.2 501.1 4 65
    62 Kansas City, MO 33.9 549.5 -19 43
    63 Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA NECTA 33.8 547.2 1 64
    64 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH 32.7 1015.9 -3 61
    65 St. Louis, MO-IL 31.7 1301.5 -12 53
    66 Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 21.5 980.8 -8 58

  • Midsized Cities Rankings – 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth

    Read about how we selected the 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth
    View the interactive map

    This year’s rankings use four measures of growth to rank all 398 metro areas for which full data sets were available from the past 10 years. "Large" areas include those with a current nonfarm emplymt base of at least 450,000 jobs. "Midsize" areas range from 150,000 to 450,000 jobs. "Small" areas have as many as 150,000 jobs. This year’s rankings reflect the current size of each MSA’s employment. Only two MSAs changed size categories, with Honolulu, HI moving from “Midsized” to “Large” and Savannah, GA moving from “Small” to “Midsized.” In the instances where the analysis refers to changes in ranking order within the size categories, these two MSA’s changes are reported as if they had been included in their current category in the prior year.

    2013  Rank Among Medium Cities Area 2013 Weighted INDEX  2012 Nonfarm Employment (1000s)  Size Mvmnt 2012 Size Ranking
    1 Boulder, CO 86.2 171.2 8 9
    2 Provo-Orem, UT 83.9 198.0 5 7
    3 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO 81.9 215.1 18 21
    4 Corpus Christi, TX 80.9 187.0 -2 2
    5 Bakersfield-Delano, CA 79.9 243.8 3 8
    6 Lafayette, LA 77.1 157.3 -5 1
    7 Lexington-Fayette, KY 74.7 260.0 47 54
    8 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 73.8 390.2 2 10
    9 Baton Rouge, LA 73.2 380.7 20 29
    10 Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC 72.2 304.4 -5 5
    11 Kansas City, KS 71.3 446.9 5 16
    12 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 71.2 233.6 -9 3
    13 Springfield, MO 70.0 200.0 20 33
    14 Ann Arbor, MI 69.7 207.0 8 22
    15 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA 68.4 171.0 11 26
    16 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 68.1 201.6 26 42
    17 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 68.1 285.9 3 20
    18 Boise City-Nampa, ID 67.5 267.7 35 53
    19 Asheville, NC 67.5 173.9 -6 13
    20 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 67.2 328.7 20 40
    21 Trenton-Ewing, NJ 66.7 245.7 -3 18
    22 Lincoln, NE 65.6 177.8 -8 14
    23 El Paso, TX 63.8 286.0 -19 4
    24 Canton-Massillon, OH 62.6 167.2 -5 19
    25 Savannah, GA 62.5 157.9 -8 76
    26 Reading, PA 61.1 172.2 1 27
    27 Anchorage, AK 60.8 176.3 11 38
    28 Green Bay, WI 58.7 169.4 8 36
    29 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 58.5 345.6 -5 24
    30 Framingham, MA  NECTA Division 57.1 158.9 -15 15
    31 Knoxville, TN 57.0 334.1 -25 6
    32 Baltimore City, MD 56.8 360.1 -20 12
    33 Tulsa, OK 56.5 427.0 2 35
    34 Fort Wayne, IN 56.4 208.5 0 34
    35 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC 55.3 309.3 -18 17
    36 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 54.9 445.0 12 48
    37 Colorado Springs, CO 54.0 252.7 25 62
    38 Columbia, SC 53.3 355.9 -1 37
    39 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 52.6 211.9 11 50
    40 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL 52.1 249.5 33 73
    41 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 51.9 325.7 6 47
    42 Peoria, IL 51.6 183.6 -31 11
    43 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY 50.9 253.8 -18 25
    44 Akron, OH 50.7 327.3 31 75
    45 Spokane, WA 50.2 209.7 35 80
    46 Jackson, MS 49.5 259.0 -14 32
    47 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 49.1 343.5 -4 43
    48 Winston-Salem, NC 49.0 207.4 13 61
    49 York-Hanover, PA 48.6 179.1 -21 28
    50 Roanoke, VA 48.5 159.1 28 78
    51 Chattanooga, TN-GA 48.2 237.0 6 57
    52 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 48.2 163.5 30 82
    53 Lancaster, PA 48.2 230.5 3 56
    54 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 47.9 182.7 33 87
    55 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 47.8 281.9 13 68
    56 Tacoma, WA Metropolitan Division 47.4 271.0 -4 52
    57 Madison, WI 47.0 348.7 -11 46
    58 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 46.8 215.3 6 64
    59 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 46.4 157.2 1 60
    60 Worcester, MA-CT NECTA 46.1 244.7 -21 39
    61 Stockton, CA 45.4 191.9 8 69
    62 Tucson, AZ 45.3 366.3 8 70
    63 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA 44.8 256.9 -22 41
    64 Fresno, CA 44.7 284.6 1 65
    65 New Haven, CT NECTA 44.2 271.3 -16 49
    66 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 44.1 160.6 0 66
    67 Evansville, IN-KY 44.0 176.1 -44 23
    68 Gary, IN Metropolitan Division 41.7 272.2 -17 51
    69 Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division 41.4 383.5 10 79
    70 Huntsville, AL 41.3 209.4 -11 59
    71 Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME NECTA 40.6 190.1 -4 67
    72 Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division 38.6 336.9 12 84
    73 Reno-Sparks, NV 37.7 192.5 13 86
    74 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 36.7 194.7 15 89
    75 Syracuse, NY 36.3 316.1 -20 55
    76 Montgomery, AL 36.1 167.1 14 90
    77 Toledo, OH 36.0 305.8 -1 76
    78 Calvert-Charles-Prince George’s, MD 35.6 378.5 -34 44
    79 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 33.9 173.3 12 91
    80 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 33.4 196.7 5 85
    81 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 32.6 175.5 -51 30
    82 Tallahassee, FL 30.7 166.4 -11 71
    83 Mobile, AL 28.6 174.2 -20 63
    84 Greensboro-High Point, NC 28.4 343.6 -1 83
    85 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT NECTA 27.2 404.2 -8 77
    86 Albuquerque, NM 26.8 366.8 -12 74
    87 Lansing-East Lansing, MI 25.2 218.0 -56 31
    88 Dayton, OH 24.8 377.9 -30 58
    89 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 24.4 225.0 -8 81
    90 Wichita, KS 22.9 288.0 -2 88
    91 Springfield, MA-CT NECTA 19.9 281.7 -19 72