Top 100 Leading Locations for 2012 (MSAs Ranked 51-100)
-
- Rank
- City/MSA
- State
- Population
-
- 51.
- Fort Wayne
- IN
- 416,257
-
- 52.
- Durham-Chapel Hill
- NC
- 504,357
-
- 53.
- Albany-Schenectady-Troy
- NY
- 870,716
-
- 54
- Corpus Christi
- TX
- 428,185
-
- 55.
- Burlington-South Burlington
- VT
- 211,261
-
- 56.
- St. Joseph
- MO-KS
- 127,329
-
- 57.
- Ogden-Clearfield
- UT
- 547,184
-
- 57. t
-
Grand Rapids-Wyoming
- MI
- 774,160
-
- 59.
- Oshkosh-Neenah
- WI
- 166,994
-
- 60.
- Sioux Falls
- SD
- 228,261
-
- 61.
- Eau Claire
- WI
- 161,151
-
-
- 63.
- Des Moines-West Des Moines
- IA
- 569,633
-
- 64.
- Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford
- VA
- 162,958
-
 This MSA - located in Montgomery
County, Va. - ranked 6th among Area
Development's Top 20 South-
Atlantic Cities. Specifically it
ranked 5th for Employment
Growth (net one-year change
as percentage of population)
and 48th for 2010 work force
18-44 with BA degree or
higher (as percentage of total
work force). The county is
home to internationally
renowned Virginia Tech.
In confirmation of our
rankings, in 2009, Forbes named the Blacksburg metro
31st on its list of the "Best
Small Places for Business and
Careers," and 14th on its list of "America's
Most Educated Small Towns."
Since 2000, relocating or expanding businesses
have invested more than $265 million
and created more than 4,600 jobs in
Montgomery County, Va. In October 2011,
outdoor retailer Backcountry.com announced
plans to invest over $20 million to establish a
fulfillment center in the county that will create
more than 200 new jobs*, and in March
of 2011, Modea, a designer of product-focused media, said it would place its headquarters
in the county, creating 200 jobs, and in March
of 2011, Modea, a designer of product-focused media, said it would place its headquarters
in the county, creating 200 jobs.
-
-
-
- 66. t
- New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner
- LA
- 1,167,764
-
- 68.
- Chattanooga
- TN-GA
- 528,143
-
 Placing 7th on the list of Area
Development's Top 20 Southern Cities,
Chattanooga ranked 22nd among the Top
25 Mid-Size Cities in "Recession-Busting"
factors. And bust the recession it has, with
new investments over the past five years
from Amazon to Volkswagen. Last year, VW
opened its billion-dollar plant there, and this
spring the company announced the hiring of
800 more people. In all, VW and others
such as Alstom, Sanofi-Aventis, and Amazon.com dropped about
$3 billion into the
Chattanooga economy during
the recent recession.
Journalists and analysts
have also spotlighted the
community's pluses. Outside
Magazine named Chattanooga
the "Best Town Ever" this
year, and CNNMoney.com put
it on the list of "8 Cities That
Want Your Business." Forbes named Chattanooga as one of
the top 10 cities where home
values were expected to rise in 2011, and
last year Where to Retire profiled Chattanooga
as a "Top Retirement Town."
-
- 69.
- Greenville-Mauldin-Easley
- SC
- 636,986
-
-
-
- 72.
- Rapid City
- SD
- 126,382
-
- 73.
- Columbus
- GA-AL
- 294,865
-
- 74.
- College Station-Bryan
- TX
- 228,660
-
- 75.
- Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers
- AR-MO
- 463,204
-
- 76.
- Kennewick-Pasco-Richland
- WA
- 253,340
-
 This part of Washington State placed 5th
among the Top 25 Mid-Size Cities in
"Prime Workforce Growth" and 10th among
this same group of cities for its strong
"Recession-Busting" indicators. The so-called
"Tri-Cities" also placed 4th overall among Area Development's Top 10 Pacific Cities.
On the surface, the Tri-Cities seem almost
laid back, with stunning scenery, 300-plus
days of sunshine a year, and most of
Washington's highly regarded, $3 billion
wine business. However, amid that science
and technology thrive, led in terms of
employee count by the U.S. Department of
Energy's Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory and DOE contractors such as
CH2M Hill Hanford Group, Bechtel
National, Mission Support Alliance, and
Washington River Protection Solutions.
ConAgra Foods, meanwhile, processes
frozen potatoes in the area, and Tyson Foods has a meat-processing operation there.
-
-
-
- 79.
- Lewiston
- ID-WA
- 60,888
-
-
- 81.
- Barnstable Town
- MA
- 215,888
-
- 82.
- Raleigh-Cary
- NC
- 1,130,490
-
- 83.
-
Cumberland
- MD-WV
- 103,299
-
- 84.
- Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
- PA-NJ
- 821,173
-
- 85.
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
- MN-WISD
- 3,317,308
-
-
- 87.
- Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin
- FL
- 180,822
-
-
-
-
-
- 92.
- Florence-Muscle Shoals
- AL
- 147,137
-
-
- 93. t
- Louisville/Jefferson County
- KY-IN
- 1,307,647
-
- 95.
- La Crosse
- WI-MN
- 133,665
-
- 96.
- Lansing-East Lansing
- MI
- 464,036
-
- 97.
- Winchester
- VA-WV
- 128,472
-
-
-
- 100.
- Hinesville-Fort Stewart
- GA
- 77,917
LEADING LOCATIONS FOR 2012 RESOURCES
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