Best-Performing Cities 2017
Metropolitan areas are crucial drivers of growth in the American economy, taking different paths to prosperity depending on their industry mix, policy choices, and available resources. But while some parts of the country are thriving, others are falling behind.
The Milken Institute's Best-Performing Cities (BPC) index provides an objective benchmark for examining the underlying factors and identifying unique characteristics of economic growth in metropolitan areas.
Our index uses a fact-based set of metrics such as job creation, wage gains, and technology developments to evaluate the relative growth of metropolitan areas. While national and international political and economic forces can affect near-term performance and can lie beyond a region's control, the top-performing metros have cohesive strategies that allow them to leverage their assets more effectively. They offer important lessons that may be helpful to peer regions.
Top 10 Best-Performing Large Cities 2017
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) /
Metropolitan Division (MD) |
2017 Rank |
2016 Rank |
Change |
| Provo-Orem, UT (MSA) |
1 |
2 |
+1 |
| Raleigh, NC (MSA) |
2 |
6 |
+4 |
| Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX (MD) |
3 |
5 |
+2 |
| San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA (MD) |
4 |
4 |
Steady |
| Fort Collins, CO (MSA) |
5 |
8 |
+3 |
| North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL (MSA) |
6 |
26 |
+20 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL (MSA) |
7 |
9 |
+2 |
| Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN (MSA) |
8 |
7 |
-1 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX (MSA) |
9 |
3 |
-6 |
| Salt Lake City, UT (MSA) |
10 |
11 |
+1 |
Highlights
- Provo-Orem, UT, takes the top with a stellar performance across all nine indicators. The region that is home to Brigham Young University benefited from high-tech industries helping to create broad-based job growth that placed first among large metros on our one- and five-year metrics.
- More welcoming business climates and lower costs than in the coastal tech cities buoyed Raleigh, NC, and Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX to the remaining Top 3 spots Raleigh's research and development-driven industries and Dallas' broad range of company headquarters—creating jobs in energy, telecoms, and banking—contributed to their rise.
- San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA, held firm at No. 4 and together with former No. 1 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, (now No. 11) the large Bay Area economies are still experiencing remarkably high rates of growth over many years into their expansion.
- Florida metropolitan areas did well, claiming six of the Top 25 spots this year as their economies hit their stride a little later than other regions of the country. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL, at No. 6 and Orland-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL, at No. 7 were the highest ranked.
- Four California metros placed in the Top 25, down from six in 2016. The majority of Texas metros have experienced declines in their ranks as well. Apart from Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX, and San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX, all Texas regions that ranked in the Top 100 large cities in 2016 dropped in rank in our 2017 index.
- The high-tech industries continue to be important economic drivers in regional economies across the country. As rising wages and rents raised the cost of doing business in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and San Jose, some firms chose to relocate or expand away from these regions, distributing opportunities to other parts of the U.S.
- A large share of the top gainers this year have defense and/or health care/medical sectors as their anchor industries. About one-third of these metros are college towns, like Syracuse, NY, logistics hubs like Tacoma-Lakewood, WA, and/or manufacturing centers like Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL is the region that climbed the most.
- Many of the biggest drops in our ranking came from metros whose economies are reliant on natural resources and manufacturing. One example is Bakersfield, CA, which experienced the biggest drop having made the Best-Performing Cities Top 25 both in 2012 and 2013 but now finds itself ranked 161due the contraction in the oil and energy sector and California's drought. Other regions with large drops rely on manufacturing as an economic driver, such as Toledo, OH.
Top 10 Best-Performing Small Cities 2017
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) /
Metropolitan Division (MD) |
2017 Rank |
2016 Rank |
Change |
| Bend-Redmond, OR (MSA) |
1 |
1 |
Steady |
| St. George, UT (MSA) |
2 |
4 |
+2 |
| Gainesville, GA (MSA) |
3 |
10 |
+7 |
| San Rafael, CA (MD) |
4 |
3 |
-1 |
| Wenatchee, WA (MSA) |
5 |
36 |
+31 |
| Elkhart-Goshen, IN (MSA) |
6 |
39 |
+33 |
| Yuba City, CA (MSA) |
7 |
45 |
+38 |
| Bellingham, WA (MSA) |
8 |
76 |
+68 |
| Columbus, IN (MSA) |
9 |
7 |
-2 |
| Auburn-Opelika, AL (MSA) |
10 |
6 |
-4 |
Highlights
- Bend-Redmond, OR, repeats as the top-performing small metro in the nation, continuing to add jobs at an impressive rate and leveraging its high quality of life to attract entrepreneurial new residents.
- All the Top 10 metros have health care as a cornerstone industry.
- Outdoor tourism-related economies like Bend-Redmond, OR, St. George, UT (No. 2), Wenatchee, WA (No. 4), and Bellingham, WA (No. 8), are all experiencing growth.
- Aging populations bolster the local health care sectors by increasing demand for services.
- Two notable industries that define some metro economies are manufacturing and high-tech sectors. Bend-Redmond, OR, San Rafael, CA, and Bellingham, WA benefit from a continued growth of their economies' high-tech presence while Gainesville, GA, Elkhart-Goshen, IN, Columbus, IN, and Auburn-Opelika, AL, see growth coming from manufacturing.
- Yuba City, CA, sees its health care industry continue to grow, helping the metro become a Top 10 performer
