Seattle Makes the Grade as One of the Nations Best-Performing Cities
The Emerald City jumps nine spots in the Milken Institutes annual rankings to break into the top 10.
By Rob Smith January 28, 2019
The Seattle area earned an 8th-place ranking nationally among U.S. cities in the just-released 2018 Best-Performing Cities rankings published by the Milken Institute. Seattle catapulted ahead of its showing last year, when it finished No. 17.
The annual rankings are a measure of how municipalities are fostering economic development based on measures of job growth, wages and technology output. Four other Washington metro areas made the 2018 rankings: Olympia, No.19; Tacoma, No. 75; Kennewick-Richland, No. 85; and Spokane, No. 103.
High-profile corporate site searches like Amazons HQ2 competition highlight the importance of a strong knowledge-based economy, said Minoli Ratnatunga, Milken Institute director of regional economics research. Tech companies, augmented by research universities, are among the most powerful assets a metro can have in our tech-driven economy.
A total of five California and three Utah metros ranked among the top 25 in the Milken study, which is focused heavily on high-tech industry growth. The top five metros on the Milken list, ranked from highest to lowest, are Provo-Orem, Utah; San Jose, California; Austin, Texas; San Francisco; and Dallas. Provo-Orem also finished first last year.
The Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities rankings involve an analysis of economic metrics across 200 large cities and 201 small cities. The report is intended to provide a snapshot of economic growth patterns among urban areas nationwide.