New Geography

Tag: Best Cities

  • How We Pick the Best Cities

    By Michael Shires

    This year’s rankings continue the methodology used last year, which emphasizes the robustness of a region’s growth and allows the rankings to include all of the metropolitan statistical areas 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 1996 to January 2008.

    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.
    “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. Two communities in last year’s top midsize MSA group grew enough that they are now considered large MSAs: Birmingham, Ala., and Oklahoma City. In the smaller MSAs, Asheville, N.C., moved from the small to midsize category.

    This year’s rankings use four measures of growth to rank all areas for which full data sets were available from the past 10 years — 335 regions in total. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, no longer reports employment detail for MSAs with employment levels less than 30,000 in its monthly models (a total of 59 MSAs were dropped). As a result, this year’s rankings can be directly compared to the 2007 rankings for MSAs for the large and midsize categories, but there are some adjustments needed for year-to-year comparisons in small MSA category. In instances where the analysis refers to changes in ranking order, these adjustments have been taken into account.

    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 2002-2007 growth rate (two points); 3) long-term trend: the sum of the 2002-2007 and 1996-2001 employment growth rates multiplied by the ratio of the 1996-2001 growth rate over the 2002-2007 growth rate (two points); and 4) current year growth (one point).

  • Why Small Cities Rock

    Forget New York and San Francisco. With beautiful scenery, skilled workers, and affordable housing, smaller cities are luring companies in droves.

    They may not make a big splash nationally, but small metro areas continue to dominate the top ranks of Inc.com’s Best Cities rankings. This year, for example, 18 of the top 25 cities are small metros.

    We decided to take a look at what makes these places tick by focusing on one of them. St. George, Utah, has a lock on first or second place for the third year in a row. St. George is the bustling population and commercial center of Utah’s Dixie, a nickname given to the area when Brigham Young persuaded Mormon pioneers to grow cotton and wine grapes and harvest silk for export to the Civil War-torn northern states.

    The cotton plants, grapevines and mulberry bushes largely are gone, but the area overall is thriving. Nestled near Zion and Bryce National Parks, St. George has been attracting visitors and retirees for decades. But increasingly, the new houses lining the red-bluffed valleys are not occupied by those at the end of their productive lives; they are being snatched up by younger people and families anxious to take advantage of economic opportunities in a lovely setting. The population has doubled every decade in the last three.

    But it’s not just scenery that attracts. This is a community with a strong sense of pride and connection with its past. And unlike many attractive communities, this one still wants to grow — and has done so by appealing to companies from giant Wal-Mart (which has a distribution center here) and Skywest to entrepreneurial firms who are filling the spacious, orderly industrial parks in the region.

    St. George also is taking advantage of its location. With easy access to I-15, between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, notes Scott Hirschi, director of the Washington County Economic Development Council, it’s within a day’s semi-truck ride from almost the entire West Coast. At its current pace, Washington County is expected to grow to between 600,000 or 700,000 people by 2050.

    In some small metros, as shown by the dominance of Texas cities in the overall rankings, the resurgence is due to the fact that the pillars of the economy — food, energy, and manufacturing — are in high demand in the global economy. For others it’s the presence of a university or college, the beautiful scenery and abundance of recreation activities, the proximity to a large metro area, or the position within a multi-polar urban complex. In places like Bend, Ore., or Bellingham, Wash., a combination of factors — beautiful settings, movement of skilled workers and entrepreneurs — has come together to create a robust crucible for attracting new talent and new businesses.

    Affordability is also a critical factor. St. George is joined this year near the top of the rankings by its intermountain neighbors Salt Lake City and Provo. So, it seems that Utah’s strong and diverse job growth and low housing prices — at least compared to California — continue as a draw for people seeking more affordable communities ideal for raising families and growing businesses.

    “St. George is the last small, snow-free community as you travel east from California’s Pacific Coast,” says the town’s development director, Scott Hirschi. “And, we have no gambling here which appeals to people that are looking for a family-friendly community.”

    Delore Zimmerman is president and CEO of Praxis Strategy Group and publisher of Newgeography.com

  • Is Manufacturing Weighing Down the U.S. Economy?

    The answer may surprise you.

    Ever since we started ranking the Best Cities for Doing Business in 2004, the bottom rung of the rankings has been largely dominated by older industrial cities where factories have long been abandoned and once booming economies have dried up. The 2008 list bears this sobering fact; among the largest regions surveyed, Detroit sits on the bottom at No. 66, with Warren Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich., Cleveland, Providence, R.I., Philadelphia, and the New York twins — Rochester and Buffalo — doing only slightly better.

    The same pattern can be seen on the lists of midsize and small cities, where the bottom rankings consist largely of former industrial towns along the Great Lakes belt, including Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. Dayton, Ohio, falls last at No. 96, lying at the bottom of the midsize list of cities. Among the small metros, Battle Creek, Mich., languishes at No. 173, with Michigan cities Saginaw and Flint doing only slightly better.

    So given this persistent underperformance, is manufacturing weighing down the U.S. economy? The answer may surprise you. Even though the industrial towns dominated by what used to be called the Big Three automakers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) and their suppliers have been devastated by slumping sales, a host of other manufacturing regions have emerged as strong performers. For the most part, the largest beneficiaries of these changes are located either in the Intermountain West — the region between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, and the Sun Belt region stretching across the southern bottom of the country. Here, U.S. car makers are not well represented and smaller communities with a host of specialized industrial companies have expanded in the face of tough times.

    For example, large metros, such as Las Vegas (No. 8), Houston (No. 3) and Salt Lake City (No. 4), have attracted specialized industrial companies from high-cost, high-regulation locales like California, including aerospace, electronics, and industrial equipment. All these areas have experienced industrial job growth since 2000; Las Vegas alone has seen its number of manufacturing jobs grow by more than 30 percent.

    But much of the action is in smaller areas. Many of them, like Midland, Texas, (No. 1); Longview, Texas, (No. 11); and Morgantown, W.Va., (No. 15), are tied to energy production. Such places have experienced 15 percent or more industrial job growth since 2000.

    Another hot spot is in the Great Plains. Many cities in the region have attracted sophisticated manufacturing firms in technology, farm machinery, and electronics as well as an expanding number of energy-based companies ranging from oil, gas, and coal to wind power. Grand Forks and Fargo, N.D., No. 56 and No. 28 respectively, have experienced a quiet industrial boom, increasing their manufacturing jobs by more than 14 percent since 2000.

    Already home to numerous agricultural implement firms, the largest manufacturer in Grand Forks is LM Glasfiber, a Danish manufacturer of propeller blades for windmills. Since the North Dakota office opened in 1999, it has expanded from 20 to 900 employees. Plant Manager Ralph Sperrazza says he appreciates the loyalty and dedication of the employee base, many of whom are returnees from larger metropolitan areas such as Minneapolis.

    One effect of LM, local economic development officials reveal, has been a notable tightening of the labor market and an increase in wages in Grand Forks. The same result, notes North Dakota State Economist Larry Leistritz, is occurring elsewhere in the region as other core industries, ranging from energy and office furniture to farm equipment, have enjoyed rapid growth.

    “These are the best times we’ve seen in many decades,” Leistritz beams. “And it is being felt broadly across the entire society.”

  • Large Cities Ranking

    2008 Overall Rank Area State Nonfarm Employment (1,000s) 2008 Size Group Rank Change Since 2007 Weighted Index
    1 Raleigh-Cary, NC North Carolina 525.9 L 6 93.0
    2 Austin-Round Rock, TX Texas 767.4 L 14 85.9
    3 Salt Lake City, UT Utah 648.9 L 7 84.4
    4 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX Texas 2,591.5 L 13 81.7
    5 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC North Carolina 867.9 L 18 77.6
    6 Orlando-Kissimmee, FL Florida 1,104.2 L -2 75.3
    7 San Antonio, TX Texas 840.0 L 15 74.3
    8 Las Vegas-Paradise, NV Nevada 928.6 L -7 73.2
    9 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division Texas 875.4 L 20 73.0
    10 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metropolitan Division Washington 1,470.1 L 8 71.6
    11 Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA Oregon 1,047.1 L 9 71.1
    12 Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division Texas 2,097.9 L 13 70.9
    13 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA Louisiana 522.6 L 53 70.2
    14 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ Arizona 1,917.1 L -12 70.2
    15 Honolulu, HI Hawaii 459.1 L -7 65.6
    16 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA Georgia 2,479.8 L 8 63.9
    17 Northern Virginia, VA Virginia 1,316.2 L -8 61.3
    18 Nashville-Davidson- -Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Tennessee 767.9 L -4 60.0
    19 Jacksonville, FL Florida 633.5 L -7 58.8
    20 Denver-Aurora, CO Colorado 1,247.4 L 18 57.7
    21 Washington -Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan
    Division    		 District of Columbia 2,427.1 L -8 56.2
    22 New York City, NY New York 3,785.2 L 21 53.1
    23 Indianapolis-Carmel, IN Indiana 920.7 L 23 52.8
    24 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA California 1,265.6 L -19 52.4
    25 Richmond, VA Virginia 635.7 L 5 52.4
    26 Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Kentucky 629.4 L 19 51.6
    27 Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL Metropolitan
    Division    		 Florida 792.3 L -24 50.8
    28 Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division Florida 1,071.3 L 3 50.7
    29 San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division California 997.7 L 25 50.3
    30 Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma 571.2 L Was Med 49.2
    31 Putnam-Rockland-Westchester, NY New York 583.4 L 9 46.5
    32 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Nebraska 466.7 L 0 46.4
    33 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA California 911.8 L 27 45.4
    34 Sacramento- -Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA California 905.6 L -19 44.3
    35 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Virginia 775.1 L -7 43.2
    36 Kansas City, MO Missouri 569.5 L 6 43.0
    37 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division Massachusetts 1,715.1 L 19 42.4
    38 Memphis, TN-MS-AR Tennessee 648.1 L 3 42.3
    39 Columbus, OH Ohio 951.2 L 13 41.9
    40 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT NECTA Connecticut 561.4 L 4 41.9
    41 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL Metropolitan
    Division    		 Florida 586.6 L -35 41.8
    42 Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division New York 1,277.3 L 7 41.7
    43 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Florida 1,297.9 L -32 41.5
    44 Birmingham-Hoover, AL Alabama 533.4 L Was Med 41.4
    45 Camden, NJ Metropolitan Division New Jersey 544.7 L -24 38.7
    46 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA California 1,310.2 L -20 38.3
    47 Edison-New Brunswick, NJ Metropolitan Division New Jersey 1,037.9 L -12 37.7
    48 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Minnesota 1,801.3 L -15 36.0
    49 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL Metropolitan Division Illinois 3,878.5 L 2 35.6
    50 Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Ohio 1,045.9 L -14 34.7
    51 Bethesda-Frederick-Gaithersburg, MD Metropolitan Division Maryland 578.0 L -32 33.8
    52 St. Louis, MO-IL Missouri 1,356.5 L -2 31.5
    53 Pittsburgh, PA Pennsylvania 1,146.8 L 0 31.2
    54 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Wisconsin 854.4 L 1 30.5
    55 Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division California 1,502.3 L -28 29.8
    56 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division California 4,114.0 L -8 28.7
    57 Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division New Jersey 1,038.7 L 1 28.0
    58 Bergen-Hudson-Passaic, NJ New Jersey 914.2 L 3 27.3
    59 Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division California 1,048.4 L -22 27.0
    60 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY New York 550.1 L -3 26.2
    61 Rochester, NY New York 516.4 L 2 25.2
    62 Philadelphia City, PA Pennsylvania 664.3 L -3 22.0
    63 Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA NECTA Rhode Island 579.7 L -16 20.7
    64 Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH Ohio 1,066.6 L -2 19.9
    65 Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division Michigan 1,171.8 L -1 16.6
    66 Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Division Michigan 777.9 L -1 2.2

  • Medium Cities Ranking

    2008 Overall Rank Area State Nonfarm Employment (1,000s) 2008 Size Group Rank Change Since 2007 Weighted Index
    1 Provo-Orem, UT Utah 193.6 M 6 93.7
    2 Tacoma, WA Metropolitan Division Washington 286.4 M 12 88.1
    3 Savannah, GA Georgia 161.8 M 7 87.9
    4 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Texas 213.5 M -2 85.7
    5 Huntsville, AL Alabama 212.7 M 16 81.0
    6 Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC South Carolina 299.4 M 9 78.7
    7 Asheville, NC North Carolina 180.5 M Was Small 78.5
    8 Ogden-Clearfield, UT Utah 202.0 M 8 78.0
    9 Bakersfield, CA California 241.1 M 2 77.8
    10 Lafayette, LA Louisiana 150.7 M 68 77.5
    11 Durham, NC North Carolina 291.5 M 34 77.5
    12 Boise City-Nampa, ID Idaho 276.3 M -3 75.8
    13 Springfield, MO Missouri 203.0 M 7 74.9
    14 Spokane, WA Washington 219.6 M 8 71.2
    15 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Iowa 323.8 M 15 69.7
    16 Kansas City, KS Kansas 449.1 M 53 69.4
    17 Baton Rouge, LA Louisiana 372.9 M -4 68.4
    18 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC South Carolina 322.9 M 34 68.2
    19 Columbia, SC South Carolina 371.4 M 5 66.0
    20 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO Arkansas 208.8 M -16 65.5
    21 Peoria, IL Illinois 187.9 M 46 64.6
    22 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Louisiana 180.7 M 4 64.0
    23 York-Hanover, PA Pennsylvania 184.5 M 28 62.8
    24 Wichita, KS Kansas 306.1 M 49 60.8
    25 Salem, OR Oregon 151.8 M 10 60.5
    26 El Paso, TX Texas 275.4 M 20 60.1
    27 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL Florida 175.2 M -10 59.4
    28 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Arkansas 348.2 M 8 58.7
    29 Reno-Sparks, NV Nevada 224.4 M -21 58.5
    30 Stockton, CA California 214.2 M 1 58.1
    31 Montgomery, AL Alabama 180.7 M 17 58.0
    32 Boulder, CO Colorado 167.4 M 44 55.4
    33 Winston-Salem, NC North Carolina 221.6 M 27 54.6
    34 Corpus Christi, TX Texas 176.6 M 29 53.7
    35 Albuquerque, NM New Mexico 395.7 M -16 53.4
    36 Eugene-Springfield, OR Oregon 157.0 M -3 53.1
    37 Tallahassee, FL Florida 180.7 M -8 51.8
    38 Tulsa, OK Oklahoma 426.3 M 5 51.5
    39 Knoxville, TN Tennessee 338.8 M -12 51.2
    40 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Texas 164.5 M 51 50.0
    41 Colorado Springs, CO Colorado 261.9 M 15 49.9
    42 Lexington-Fayette, KY Kentucky 257.9 M 13 49.7
    43 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Florida 225.9 M -42 48.8
    44 Mobile, AL Alabama 183.4 M -3 48.8
    45 Fresno, CA California 305.4 M 14 48.4
    46 Tucson, AZ Arizona 382.8 M -34 47.7
    47 Rockford, IL Illinois 162.2 M 34 46.9
    48 Lincoln, NE Nebraska 175.0 M 18 46.4
    49 Jackson, MS Mississippi 263.3 M -2 45.9
    50 Framingham, MA NECTA Division Massachusetts 158.7 M 25 45.7
    51 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL Florida 214.5 M -45 45.5
    52 Anchorage, AK Alaska 165.1 M -29 45.1
    53 Calvert-Charles-Prince George’s, MD Maryland 398.9 M -9 44.1
    54 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL Florida 172.2 M -49 43.8
    55 Greensboro-High Point, NC North Carolina 375.3 M 37 43.5
    56 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA California 174.1 M 5 42.1
    57 Lancaster, PA Pennsylvania 238.9 M -4 41.5
    58 Trenton-Ewing, NJ New Jersey 239.5 M -33 41.2
    59 Chattanooga, TN-GA Tennessee 248.6 M 3 41.1
    60 Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA California 191.4 M 35 40.2
    61 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Pennsylvania 343.9 M -23 40.1
    62 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT NECTA Connecticut 424.1 M 24 39.9
    63 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Georgia 217.7 M -21 39.8
    64 Akron, OH Ohio 340.4 M -10 39.7
    65 Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division Delaware 356.9 M -8 38.7
    66 Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME NECTA Maine 195.6 M 6 37.6
    67 Madison, WI Wisconsin 349.3 M -33 37.6
    68 Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, FL Florida 293.7 M -65 36.9
    69 Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division Illinois 397.1 M -29 36.5
    70 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Illinois 188.5 M 13 36.5
    71 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL Florida 212.3 M -53 36.4
    72 Gary, IN Metropolitan Division Indiana 281.9 M 8 35.8
    73 Reading, PA Pennsylvania 174.3 M 4 35.7
    74 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Pennsylvania 331.4 M -25 34.8
    75 Modesto, CA California 158.9 M -36 34.3
    76 Green Bay, WI Wisconsin 169.4 M -18 33.4
    77 Syracuse, NY New York 325.6 M -7 33.3
    78 Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA Pennsylvania 262.8 M -10 32.9
    79 New Haven, CT NECTA Connecticut 278.9 M 8 31.0
    80 Roanoke, VA Virginia 163.5 M -2 29.0
    81 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY New York 449.0 M -2 28.6
    82 Worcester, MA-CT NECTA Massachusetts 248.6 M 3 28.6
    83 Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY New York 255.3 M -33 28.3
    84 Evansville, IN-KY Indiana 180.0 M -10 27.1
    85 Fort Wayne, IN Indiana 216.7 M -21 24.7
    86 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI Michigan 395.1 M -2 24.4
    87 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA California 293.4 M -50 24.0
    88 Springfield, MA-CT NECTA Massachusetts 297.8 M 0 23.1
    89 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC North Carolina 164.1 M 9 20.7
    90 Lansing-East Lansing, MI Michigan 226.7 M 6 19.8
    91 Canton-Massillon, OH Ohio 172.6 M 2 19.7
    92 Baltimore City, MD Maryland 370.6 M -21 17.4
    93 Toledo, OH Ohio 327.1 M -4 15.9
    94 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Ohio 239.8 M -4 14.5
    95 Ann Arbor, MI Michigan 200.4 M -1 13.6
    96 Dayton, OH Ohio 403.5 M 1 8.0

  • Small Cities Ranking

    2008 Overall Rank Area State Nonfarm Employment (1,000s) 2008 Size Group Rank Change Since 2007 Weighted Index
    1 Midland, TX Texas 66.8 S 10 98.5
    2 St. George, UT Utah 53.5 S -1 96.9
    3 Coeur d’Alene, ID Idaho 57.5 S 7 96.4
    4 Odessa, TX Texas 60.9 S 26 95.6
    5 Auburn-Opelika, AL Alabama 55.9 S 12 94.7
    6 Wilmington, NC North Carolina 147.4 S 20 94.2
    7 Bend, OR Oregon 71.6 S -1 92.9
    8 Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, SC South Carolina 122.7 S 5 92.4
    9 Grand Junction, CO Colorado 63.9 S 9 92.1
    10 Greenville, NC North Carolina 78.7 S 87 91.6
    11 Longview, TX Texas 97.3 S 50 90.5
    12 Bowling Green, KY Kentucky 63.2 S 11 87.1
    13 Gainesville, GA Georgia 77.4 S 42 86.8
    14 Bellingham, WA Washington 86.4 S 7 86.2
    15 Morgantown, WV West Virginia 62.3 S -10 85.4
    16 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, WA Washington 93.1 S 26 83.8
    17 Warner Robins, GA Georgia 59.1 S 2 83.7
    18 Greeley, CO Colorado 83.2 S 19 83.3
    19 Prescott, AZ Arizona 65.4 S -16 82.8
    20 Olympia, WA Washington 103.0 S 7 82.5
    21 Cheyenne, WY Wyoming 44.6 S 1 81.5
    22 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA Louisiana 96.0 S 42 81.2
    23 Billings, MT Montana 80.8 S 2 81.0
    24 Yuma, AZ Arizona 55.9 S -22 80.2
    25 St. Joseph, MO-KS Missouri 59.4 S 48 79.9
    26 Panama City-Lynn Haven, FL Florida 76.4 S 8 77.8
    27 Charlottesville, VA Virginia 102.7 S 4 77.7
    28 Fargo, ND-MN North Dakota 119.9 S 28 75.2
    29 Sioux Falls, SD South Dakota 134.3 S 14 72.7
    30 Bismarck, ND North Dakota 60.1 S 11 72.3
    31 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO Colorado 137.9 S 48 71.9
    32 Florence, SC South Carolina 91.3 S 46 70.8
    33 Laredo, TX Texas 87.2 S -26 70.8
    34 Fayetteville, NC North Carolina 129.5 S -1 70.1
    35 Ocala, FL Florida 106.1 S -19 69.9
    36 Pascagoula, MS Mississippi 59.0 S 26 69.9
    37 Hattiesburg, MS Mississippi 61.8 S 20 69.9
    38 Lynchburg, VA Virginia 110.1 S 34 69.9
    39 Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX Texas 123.0 S 19 69.7
    40 Pueblo, CO Colorado 59.0 S 50 69.0
    41 Winchester, VA-WV Virginia 59.2 S -1 67.8
    42 Iowa City, IA Iowa 91.3 S 39 67.5
    43 Athens-Clarke County, GA Georgia 83.8 S 1 67.5
    44 Medford, OR Oregon 85.9 S -5 67.4
    45 Santa Fe, NM New Mexico 65.3 S 2 67.0
    46 Las Cruces, NM New Mexico 68.6 S -37 66.7
    47 Waco, TX Texas 110.3 S 12 65.4
    48 St. Cloud, MN Minnesota 103.8 S 56 63.6
    49 Rochester-Dover, NH-ME NECTA New Hampshire 57.5 S 28 63.5
    50 Port St. Lucie, FL Florida 134.7 S -42 63.2
    51 Tuscaloosa, AL Alabama 98.5 S 35 61.7
    52 Joplin, MO Missouri 80.5 S 43 61.6
    53 Tyler, TX Texas 94.0 S 22 60.5
    54 Fort Smith, AR-OK Arkansas 125.2 S 52 59.3
    55 Decatur, AL Alabama 59.4 S 102 59.0
    56 Grand Forks, ND-MN North Dakota 54.8 S -36 59.0
    57 Abilene, TX Texas 66.3 S -6 58.5
    58 Valdosta, GA Georgia 56.5 S -22 57.3
    59 Dubuque, IA Iowa 55.6 S -45 57.3
    60 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA California 97.3 S 90 57.0
    61 Dothan, AL Alabama 63.0 S 33 56.5
    62 Harrisonburg, VA Virginia 64.7 S 51 56.4
    63 Bremerton-Silverdale, WA Washington 86.9 S -34 55.9
    64 Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Mississippi 111.2 S 107 55.9
    65 Columbia, MO Missouri 93.5 S -33 55.8
    66 Alexandria, LA Louisiana 65.6 S -28 55.7
    67 Amarillo, TX Texas 112.2 S -15 55.7
    68 Flagstaff, AZ Arizona 64.1 S -33 55.5
    69 Portsmouth, NH-ME NECTA New Hampshire 55.8 S -21 55.2
    70 Glens Falls, NY New York 53.6 S 22 55.0
    71 Gainesville, FL Florida 136.1 S -8 54.9
    72 Dover, DE Delaware 65.8 S -57 54.8
    73 Eau Claire, WI Wisconsin 83.6 S -3 54.3
    74 Visalia-Porterville, CA California 113.6 S 9 53.0
    75 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Texas 124.0 S -22 52.7
    76 Merced, CA California 59.3 S -16 52.5
    77 Clarksville, TN-KY Tennessee 85.5 S 21 52.0
    78 Burlington, NC North Carolina 61.7 S 32 50.9
    79 Yakima, WA Washington 79.4 S -10 50.6
    80 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA California 104.9 S 4 50.5
    81 Salisbury, MD Maryland 56.0 S 1 50.4
    82 Cedar Rapids, IA Iowa 137.6 S 79 49.3
    83 State College, PA Pennsylvania 74.7 S 22 49.3
    84 Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ Arizona 54.0 S 0 48.8
    85 Texarkana, TX-Texarkana, AR Texas 56.8 S -20 47.6
    86 Rochester, MN Minnesota 107.3 S -12 47.5
    87 College Station-Bryan, TX Texas 91.5 S -21 47.1
    88 Manchester, NH NECTA New Hampshire 102.2 S -21 46.8
    89 Missoula, MT Montana 56.7 S -44 46.7
    90 Ithaca, NY New York 64.2 S 40 46.7
    91 Jefferson City, MO Missouri 79.9 S 58 46.6
    92 Janesville, WI Wisconsin 69.8 S 45 46.4
    93 Lake Charles, LA Louisiana 92.2 S 8 46.1
    94 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH West Virginia 121.1 S -48 45.9
    95 Jackson, TN Tennessee 62.4 S -15 45.8
    96 Rapid City, SD South Dakota 59.6 S -28 45.7
    97 Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, FL Florida 85.2 S -85 45.6
    98 Anniston-Oxford, AL Alabama 53.5 S -10 45.4
    99 Napa, CA California 62.9 S -12 45.3
    100 Chico, CA California 76.6 S -51 44.7
    101 Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH West Virginia 74.9 S 57 43.6
    102 Elkhart-Goshen, IN Indiana 128.7 S -31 43.5
    103 Wichita Falls, TX Texas 63.2 S 8 43.2
    104 Duluth, MN-WI Minnesota 134.1 S 13 42.1
    105 Redding, CA California 65.9 S 18 41.5
    106 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA Iowa 90.5 S -17 41.3
    107 Nashua, NH-MA NECTA Division New Hampshire 134.4 S -22 40.6
    108 Decatur, IL Illinois 55.6 S 43 39.9
    109 Naples-Marco Island, FL Florida 130.3 S -105 39.9
    110 Johnson City, TN Tennessee 82.1 S -82 39.8
    111 Salinas, CA California 129.6 S 4 39.5
    112 Johnstown, PA Pennsylvania 61.9 S 29 38.9
    113 Bloomington, IN Indiana 84.5 S -22 38.8
    114 Rocky Mount, NC North Carolina 65.1 S 8 38.0
    115 Danbury, CT NECTA Connecticut 70.7 S 9 36.8
    116 Appleton, WI Wisconsin 118.8 S 17 36.8
    117 La Crosse, WI-MN Wisconsin 74.8 S 42 36.4
    118 Bloomington-Normal, IL Illinois 91.9 S 45 36.0
    119 Altoona, PA Pennsylvania 62.8 S -3 35.9
    120 Lubbock, TX Texas 129.2 S -6 35.6
    121 Binghamton, NY New York 115.6 S 41 35.2
    122 Erie, PA Pennsylvania 134.0 S 33 33.8
    123 Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, MA NECTA Division Massachusetts 90.6 S 31 33.1
    124 Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Iowa 74.2 S 2 32.5
    125 Norwich-New London, CT-RI NECTA Connecticut 136.5 S 0 32.5
    126 Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, MA-NH NECTA Division Massachusetts 78.2 S -6 32.4
    127 Spartanburg, SC South Carolina 126.4 S 39 31.8
    128 Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Maryland 102.3 S -32 31.4
    129 Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Wisconsin 93.2 S -10 31.3
    130 Topeka, KS Kansas 110.3 S 35 30.5
    131 Niles-Benton Harbor, MI Michigan 65.4 S 21 30.1
    132 Wausau, WI Wisconsin 72.8 S -24 29.5
    133 Champaign-Urbana, IL Illinois 113.2 S 10 29.5
    134 Utica-Rome, NY New York 133.4 S 10 29.3
    135 Bangor, ME NECTA Maine 66.7 S -26 29.0
    136 Burlington-South Burlington, VT NECTA Vermont 114.5 S -5 29.0
    137 Sheboygan, WI Wisconsin 63.7 S 3 28.9
    138 Anderson, SC South Carolina 64.1 S 32 28.8
    139 Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA Division Massachusetts 119.3 S 3 28.7
    140 Charleston, WV West Virginia 149.7 S -90 27.7
    141 Springfield, IL Illinois 111.8 S 4 27.5
    142 Albany, GA Georgia 64.6 S -30 27.1
    143 Kingston, NY New York 64.6 S -22 26.8
    144 Lafayette, IN Indiana 95.3 S -15 26.8
    145 Waterbury, CT NECTA Connecticut 69.1 S 11 26.7
    146 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA Tennessee 122.0 S -10 26.5
    147 Columbus, GA-AL Georgia 122.0 S -40 26.4
    148 South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI Indiana 145.7 S -20 25.7
    149 Kalamazoo-Portage, MI Michigan 147.1 S 4 24.9
    150 Williamsport, PA Pennsylvania 53.6 S -11 24.7
    151 Barnstable Town, MA NECTA Massachusetts 95.0 S -24 24.5
    152 Vallejo-Fairfield, CA California 126.2 S -98 24.3
    153 Macon, GA Georgia 100.8 S -19 23.8
    154 Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ New Jersey 61.9 S -54 23.6
    155 Racine, WI Wisconsin 79.8 S -53 22.6
    156 Wheeling, WV-OH West Virginia 67.8 S -57 22.6
    157 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Virginia 70.5 S -64 22.6
    158 New Bedford, MA NECTA Massachusetts 66.4 S -12 22.1
    159 Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI Michigan 65.1 S -24 21.3
    160 Dalton, GA Georgia 78.0 S -57 20.7
    161 Monroe, LA Louisiana 79.1 S -29 20.3
    162 Peabody, MA NECTA Division Massachusetts 101.6 S -15 19.8
    163 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ New Jersey 148.2 S -139 19.0
    164 Holland-Grand Haven, MI Michigan 113.1 S -46 16.3
    165 Muncie, IN Indiana 54.3 S 7 15.8
    166 Terre Haute, IN Indiana 74.0 S -2 15.3
    167 Jackson, MI Michigan 57.6 S 1 14.3
    168 Lima, OH Ohio 55.6 S -30 13.6
    169 Springfield, OH Ohio 51.9 S -21 9.5
    170 Mansfield, OH Ohio 56.9 S -1 9.0
    171 Flint, MI Michigan 147.4 S -95 6.7
    172 Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI Michigan 88.7 S -5 3.6
    173 Battle Creek, MI Michigan 58.3 S -13 3.3