Cities continue to drive economic growth across the nation. They are the primary locations where businesses create new jobs and workers earn higher wages, keeping the United States competitive in the global economy. However, metro areas are incredibly diverse. Each has unique characteristics generated through a combination of investment and policy choices that influence the community’s economic outcomes. The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities Index (BPC) provides a means for comparing metros’ recent performance.
This year’s index continues a trend noted in last year’s edition: a shift in high-tech jobs away from the largest coastal cities toward comparatively affordable inland cities with thriving local economies. That said, this year’s index also saw a rebound of some of the traditional tech hubs, notably San Jose and Durham–Chapel Hill, which emphasizes the comparative resilience of high-tech industries in the face of the pandemic.
While many of the nation’s traditional high-tech hubs still provide economic opportunities, they are no longer the only centers that create high-paying jobs, marking a shift toward spreading this type of economic success across more of the country.
This report covers the alarming reality of maternal mortality in the United States, where the maternal mortality ratio (number of maternal deaths per 100,000 births) stands as one of the highest among Organisation for Economic Co-operation...
The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities U.S. index provides a way to measure which American metropolitan areas offer the greatest opportunities for prosperity and innovation across the nation. The BPC index measures each metro area’s...
The Best-Performing Cities (BPC) 2024 rankings evaluate the performance of 403 metropolitan areas across the US based on 13 indicators that cover labor market conditions, high-tech impact, and access to economic opportunities.
The Milken Institute designed the Global Opportunity Index (GOI) to assist investors seeking opportunities outside their local markets, as well as countries intending to improve their business environments. The index is based on 100...
The Milken Institute’s annual Best-Performing Cities (BPC) rankings provide an objective framework for evaluating the relative performance of US cities. Despite the impact of COVID-19, US cities continue to serve as the primary hubs of...
This report discusses the importance of incorporating more high-skilled women into the workforce in Latin America’s major economies (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia). Despite Latin America’s recent growth, female labor force...
The State Technology and Science Index (STSI) provides a benchmark for evaluating the knowledge economies of all 50 US states. The index compares each state's capacity for achieving prosperity through scientific discovery and technological...
Breast cancer claimed 42,863 lives in the US in 2021, but early detection can improve survival rates and reduce the financial, physical, and mental burdens of treatment. Access to screening varies significantly across counties, influenced...
This report combines results from the Best-Performing Cities 2022 (BPC) index and GoDaddy’s Microbusiness Activity Index (MAI), examining what may be happening in the economies of a selection of cities in the two rankings. Essentially, we...