Texas Does Well On "Best-Performing Cities" List

Despite what our governor says, Texas is definitely feeling the effects of the current economic recession.   But it is doing a little better than some other areas of the country.   For instance, while Texas unemployment is still way too high and above 8%, other states (like California) are logging unemployment figures above 12%.

The Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank, has just released its 2010 Best Performing Cities Index.   Here in Amarillo we did pretty well on their index, coming in at number 16 (having moved up from 35th position in 2009).   In general, Texas did well in their index.   It has the number one and two metropolitan areas, five of the top ten areas, and nine of the top twenty areas on the Large City list.   Texas also did well on the Small City list.

The index is supposed to show how well cities are doing at creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth.   The components considered are jobs, wages & salaries, and technology growth.   Here are the top twenty-five cities in the Large City category:

1. Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood (Texas)
2. Austin-Round Rock (Texas)
3. Huntsville (Alabama)
4. McAllen-Edinburgh-Mission (Texas)
5. Kennewick-Richland-Pasco (Washington)
6. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (DC, Virginia)
7. Raleigh-Cary (North Carolina)
8. Anchorage (Alaska)
9. El Paso (Texas)
10. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown (Texas)
11. Lafayette (Louisiana)
12. Trenton-Ewing (New Jersey)
13. Brownsville-Harlingen (Texas)
14. San Antonio (Texas)
15. Durham (North Carolina)
16. Amarillo (Texas)
17. Dallas-Plano-Irving (Texas)
18. Fayetteville (North Carolina)
19. Charleston-North Charleston (South Carolina)
20. Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick (Maryland)
21. Oklahoma City (Oklahoma)
22. Cambridge-Newton-Framingham (Massachusetts)
23. Fort Worth-Arlington (Texas)
24. Lubbock (Texas)
25. Provo-Orem (Utah)

And here are the top twenty-five on the Small City list:

1. Fargo (North Dakota)
2. Bismarck (North Dakota)
3. Jacksonville (North Carolina)
4. College Station-Bryan (Texas)
5. Hinesville-Fort Stewart (Georgia)
6. Morgantown (West Virginia)
7. Tyler (Texas)
8. Las Cruces (New Mexico)
9. Iowa City (Iowa)
10. Lawton (Oklahoma)
11. Cheyenne (Wyoming)
12. Ithaca (New York)
13. Sioux Falls (South Dakota)
14. Waco (Texas)
15. Longview (Texas)
16. Bloomington (Indiana)
17. State College (Pennsylvania)
18. Warner Robins (Georgia)
19. Logan (Utah)
20. Charlottesville (Virginia)
21. St. Joseph (Missouri)
22. Columbia (Missouri)
23. Abilene (Texas)
24. Hanford-Corcoran (California)
25. Grand Forks (North Dakota)