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Huntsville No. 5 on Best-Performing Cities Index

Thursday, September 11, 2008
From staff reports -Huntsville Times
City rises 11 spots; 'in very, very good position for future'

Huntsville moved up 11 spots to No. 5 in an annual ranking of the nation's best-performing cities.

The rebounding technology sector boosted several newcomers to the top 10 cities that are creating and sustaining jobs, according to the Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners 2008 Best-Performing Cities Index. Cities that depend heavily on export-intensive industries also ranked high on this year's index.

Huntsville is "in a very, very good position for future growth," said Skip Rimer, Milken Institute's director of programs and communications.

Besides Huntsville, the top 10 metros in descending order were: Provo-Orem, Utah; Raleigh-Cary, N.C.; Salt Lake City; Austin-Round Rock, Texas; Wilmington, N.C.; McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas; Tacoma, Wash.; Olympia, Wash.; and Charleston-North Charleston, S.C.

Accountant Don Nalley, vice chair for economic development at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, said it's exciting to see Huntsville's continued economic growth recognized nationally.

"All in our community that work so hard to improve the economy and in general the lives of our citizens should be thrilled" with the index, Nalley said in a prepared statement.

The index's entry on Huntsville states that its economy is among the most dependent nationally on high-tech industries, ranking seventh overall. This area is more than twice as tied to the sector as the nation overall, according to the report.

The index ranks U.S. metros based on their ability to create and sustain jobs. It includes both long-term (five years) and short-term (one year) measurements of employment and salary growth.

Milken's survey also uses four measurements of tech output growth.