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 economic performance using outcomes-based metrics such as job creation, wage gains, and technological developments to evaluate their relative growth.
The Rankings:
Provo-Orem, UT, holds steady at the top of our index, thanks to a dynamic high-tech sector, an educated workforce, and a business-friendly tax and regulatory climate.
Growth through tech is the reigning theme across America, with Silicon Valley and several of Northern California’s tech-focused metro areas in the top 20. Outside the Golden State, tech hubs such as Austin-Round Rock, TX, Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX, and Raleigh, NC, have also leveraged their educated workforces and competitive business climates to generate growth.
Top Ten Best-Performing Cities 2018 in the U.S.
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) /
Metropolitan Division (MD)
2018 Rank
2017 Rank
Change
Provo-Orem, UT MSA
1
1
Steady
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA
2
11
+9
Austin-Round Rock, TX MSA
3
9
+6
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA MD
4
4
Steady
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX MD
5
3
-2
Raleigh, NC MSA
6
2
-4
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA
7
7
Steady
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA MD
8
17
+9
Fort Collins, CO MSA
9
5
-4
Salt Lake City, UT MSA
10
10
Steady
For the third year in a row, Bend-Redmond, OR is the top-performing small metro area in the nation with unrivaled job growth that began in the five years ending in 2017.
Key findings:
High-tech industries continue to fuel growth in many of the best-performing cities, creating opportunities for highly-skilled workers.
Low unemployment rates and a shortage of skilled labor are spurring more competition for knowledge workers, putting upward pressure on wages in the tech sector and widening the income gap.
Top metro areas are enjoying impressive job and wage growth, but many are also seeing housing prices rise sharply.
The national economy provides a strong base for regional growth with soaring stock markets, low inflation, and high employment supporting consumer confidence.
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’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...
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...
The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities U.S. index provides a way to measure which American metros offer the greatest opportunities for prosperity and innovation across the nation. The index measures metropolitan areas economic...
LOS ANGELES—The Milken Institute’s annual Best-Performing Cities index for 2016 shows that tech is still tops, as cities that excel in innovation drive the nation’s economic dynamism. With an ecosystem for entrepreneurship, San Jose, CA...
LOS ANGELES — The Milken Institute’s annual “Best-Performing Cities” index shows that technology and shale energy were the biggest factors behind America’s booming cities — especially technology. Tech titan San Francisco claimed the top...
LOS ANGELES— The Milken Institute's annual "Best-Performing Cities" index shows that technology and energy are the biggest forces behind America’s booming cities. Austin, Texas, reclaimed the No.1 spot based on a booming technology sector...
As highlighted in our recent Best Performing Cities report, remote work remains the norm for many US workers almost four years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (Figure 1). In early 2020, the possibility of working remotely...
With varying trends in remote work by region and industry, further insight into how remote work is solidifying itself in a post-pandemic economy is necessary to understand the performance of many US...
May 16, 2023 (Los Angeles, CA) - Provo-Orem, Utah, for the 3rd consecutive year, has demonstrated the best performance among large cities, according to the 2023 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index. Among small cities, Idaho Falls...
Paul Guequierre is the director of strategic communications. In this role, he works to increase the profile of Milken Institute in the media, raise the visibility of issues important to the organization and its stakeholders, and expand the Institute's digital presence.