Big, bustling cities are not the only places where careers can get started and businesses can thrive. America is full of smaller cities with huge career potential, and Forbes has identified the top options with their Best Small Cities for Business and Careers rankings.
As part of their 16th annual Best Places for Business and Careers rankings, Forbes created a separate list that focuses solely on smaller cities and metro areas.
Fargo, N.D. topped the Best Small Cities rankings. Though their metro population is only 219,400, the gross product in this metro area is $13.8 billion. Fargo’s economy is expected to increase 5.5% per year through 2016 and their costs for running a business is 19% lower than the national average.
College Station, TX was the No. 2-ranked small city with a metro population of 238,500. Low business costs (25% below the national average) and a high number of college educated adults (6% higher than the national average) are among the reasons why this city is so business-friendly. The gross product of this metro area is $10.4 billion.
The methodology behind the Best Small Cities for Business and Careers rankings includes the one, three and five year projected job growth; education level; expected economic increases until 2016 and the economic growth in the past five years.
Forbes used Moody’s Analytics for some of the data, like the economic projections, and the U.S. Census Bureau for the information on educational attainment.
Here are the top 25-ranked small cities for business and career, according to Forbes:
- Fargo, ND
- College Station, TX
- Mankato, MN
- Logan, UT
- Sioux Falls, SD
- Columbia, MO
- Palm Coast, FL
- Dubuque, IA
- Lafayette, IN
- Auburn, AL
- Corvallis, OR
- Ithaca, NY
- Iowa City, IA
- Ames, IA
- Bend, OR
- Springfield, IL
- Bismarck, ND
- Winchester, VA
- Rapid City, SD
- Columbus, IN
- Manhattan, KS
- Waterloo, IA
- Rochester, MN
- St. Cloud, MN
- Lawrence, KS
