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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
The Milken Institute has published various reports evaluating urban performance. In addition to its flagship Best-Performing Cities series for both the US and China, the Institute has published two Regional Performance over Time papers to...
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...