Raleigh ranked # 6 2015 Best Performing Cities

Raleigh ranked # 6 for 2015 Best Performing Cities by Milken Institute.

Here are the excerpts from the Milken Institute report:

“Raleigh, North Carolina, slipped one spot this year to sixth place. The region has consistently ranked among the top performers and this year improved in the measures for one- and five-year job and wage growth. However, its most recent short-term job growth (August 2014 to August 2015) slowed, and the metro plummeted from fourth to 68th in that category when compared with the largest 200 metros.

Innovation is a key driver of Raleigh’s success. The region ranks 10th in the importance of high-tech industries to its economy and eighth in the diversity of its high-tech industry base. Software company SAS, originally spun out of North Carolina State University, is an example of the important contributions research institutions make to economic growth in the Raleigh region. SAS routinely earns accolades as a great place to work24 and has 5,500 employees at its global headquarters in Cary.25 The industry classification that includes software publishers added more than 1,800 jobs in the metro from 2009 to 2014, more than in all but three metros in the nation.

Employers looking for a highly skilled workforce and low business costs
are attracted to the region’s Research Triangle, along with North Carolina’s competitive tax and regulatory climate. Economic opportunity has also drawn people to the region—the metro, which doubled in size between 1990 and 2010, continues to grow. Local clusters in clean technology, life sciences, software, and information technology yield high-quality jobs; for example, employment in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector has increased by more than 10,500 jobs over the past five years.”

“Assets:

Competitive business climate encourages investment in the Research Triangle.

Educated workforce is a draw for businesses offering high-wage manufacturing jobs, and these job opportunities, in turn, attract additional migrants.”

http://www.best-cities.org/best-performing-cities-2015-large-cities-slideshow.html