Read about how we selected the 2015 Best Cities for Job Growth
We used five measures of growth to rank MSAs over the past 10 years. “Large” areas include those with a current nonfarm employment base of at least 450,000 jobs. “Midsize” areas range from 150,000 to 450,000 jobs. “Small” areas have as many as 150,000 jobs. This year’s rankings reflect the new Office of Management and Budget definitions of MSAs for all series released after March 2015. As a result, the MSA listed in this year’s rankings do not necessary correspond directly to those listed in prior years. In some instances, MSAs were consolidated with others — for example Pascagoula, MS, was combined with the Gulfport-Biloxi, MS, MSA to form the new Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS, MSA. Others were separated from previously consolidated MSAs and in still other instances individual counties were shifted from one MSA to another. The bottom line is that this year’s rankings are based on good time series for the newly defined MSAs but may not be precisely comparable to those listed in prior years. The total number of MSAs included in this year’s rankings has risen from 398 to 421. This year’s rankings reflect the current size of each MSA’s employment.
| 2015 MSA Prof & Bus Svcs Large MSA Ranking | Area | 2015 Prof & Bus Svcs Weighted INDEX | 2014 Prof & Bus Svcs Emplmt (1000s) | Total Prof & Bus Svcs Emplmt Growth Rate 2013-2014 | Total Prof & Bus Svcs Emplmt Cum Growth 2009-2014 |
2015 MSA Prof & Bus Svcs Overall Ranking |
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 65.9 | 212.7 | 7.9% | 34.7% | 13 |
| 2 | San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metro Div | 65.4 | 256.9 | 9.0% | 42.3% | 15 |
| 3 | Raleigh, NC | 62.6 | 113.1 | 8.6% | 36.5% | 22 |
| 4 | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | 59.1 | 136.8 | 4.3% | 41.4% | 38 |
| 5 | Austin-Round Rock, TX | 57.3 | 150.3 | 4.3% | 37.2% | 44 |
| 6 | Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metro Div | 57.2 | 437.4 | 6.8% | 29.7% | 45 |
| 7 | West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, FL Metro Div | 54.9 | 103.9 | 5.9% | 25.0% | 51 |
| 8 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 53.8 | 144.8 | 8.3% | 19.5% | 54 |
| 9 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 52.5 | 177.2 | 4.4% | 26.8% | 62 |
| 10 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 51.6 | 469.1 | 5.2% | 24.0% | 67 |
| 11 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | 51.1 | 79.5 | 2.7% | 31.5% | 68 |
| 12 | Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metro Div | 50.3 | 156.8 | 5.0% | 25.8% | 77 |
| 13 | Kansas City, KS | 50.3 | 87.9 | 4.5% | 28.0% | 78 |
| 14 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 50.1 | 97.2 | 3.8% | 26.9% | 80 |
| 15 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 49.9 | 164.8 | 3.8% | 25.4% | 81 |
| 16 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 49.2 | 84.8 | 6.1% | 20.9% | 86 |
| 17 | Columbus, OH | 48.9 | 179.0 | 4.0% | 24.8% | 89 |
| 18 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT NECTA | 48.8 | 70.4 | 4.8% | 21.3% | 92 |
| 19 | Jacksonville, FL | 48.7 | 99.7 | 3.2% | 23.3% | 93 |
| 20 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | 48.3 | 119.7 | 5.4% | 20.6% | 97 |
| 21 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 48.0 | 469.1 | 3.8% | 27.8% | 100 |
| 22 | Salt Lake City, UT | 47.5 | 115.5 | 2.3% | 26.1% | 102 |
| 23 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | 47.4 | 156.5 | 1.1% | 26.2% | 103 |
| 24 | Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metro Div | 47.2 | 184.1 | 5.1% | 23.1% | 105 |
| 25 | Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL Metro Div | 46.8 | 139.2 | 4.3% | 19.9% | 109 |
| 26 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA NECTA | 45.9 | 66.7 | 2.9% | 17.2% | 112 |
| 27 | Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA | 45.0 | 120.9 | 4.2% | 21.1% | 116 |
| 28 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 44.9 | 123.3 | 5.7% | 17.6% | 117 |
| 29 | New York City, NY | 44.5 | 682.2 | 4.1% | 20.5% | 120 |
| 30 | Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metro Div | 44.4 | 281.6 | 4.3% | 17.2% | 121 |
| 31 | Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA Metro Div | 43.8 | 235.2 | 3.5% | 21.9% | 125 |
| 32 | Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Div | 42.9 | 114.0 | 3.1% | 21.6% | 131 |
| 33 | Camden, NJ Metro Div | 41.6 | 81.1 | 2.8% | 16.1% | 140 |
| 34 | Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metro Div | 41.5 | 246.5 | 1.4% | 26.6% | 141 |
| 35 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 41.4 | 187.8 | 4.4% | 14.8% | 143 |
| 36 | Oklahoma City, OK | 41.4 | 81.9 | 4.7% | 16.3% | 144 |
| 37 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 41.4 | 242.0 | 2.7% | 20.4% | 145 |
| 38 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 41.0 | 171.4 | 3.7% | 17.3% | 147 |
| 39 | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | 40.1 | 318.4 | 2.5% | 17.6% | 151 |
| 40 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 39.8 | 203.9 | 1.9% | 21.1% | 154 |
| 41 | San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 39.4 | 236.1 | 3.3% | 14.8% | 160 |
| 42 | Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metro Div | 39.1 | 669.9 | 1.7% | 18.1% | 162 |
| 43 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 37.9 | 304.0 | 3.0% | 17.1% | 174 |
| 44 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metro Div | 37.4 | 613.8 | 0.5% | 17.4% | 181 |
| 45 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Div | 36.4 | 331.8 | 1.8% | 16.5% | 190 |
| 46 | Urban Honolulu, HI | 36.2 | 66.9 | 1.4% | 16.3% | 191 |
| 47 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | 36.2 | 65.5 | 5.3% | 10.6% | 192 |
| 48 | Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, MI Metro Div | 35.9 | 123.0 | 2.2% | 19.4% | 196 |
| 49 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 35.6 | 204.0 | 2.0% | 13.2% | 200 |
| 50 | Kansas City, MO | 35.1 | 83.3 | 3.4% | 14.4% | 204 |
| 51 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | 32.8 | 148.5 | 1.2% | 14.9% | 220 |
| 52 | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 31.7 | 123.2 | -0.4% | 17.5% | 229 |
| 53 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | 31.2 | 71.1 | -1.1% | 14.9% | 232 |
| 54 | Orange-Rockland-Westchester, NY | 31.0 | 86.6 | 2.0% | 12.1% | 234 |
| 55 | Philadelphia City, PA | 30.5 | 89.1 | 1.9% | 10.3% | 237 |
| 56 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 29.2 | 74.0 | 0.4% | 9.6% | 242 |
| 57 | Middlesex-Monmouth-Ocean, NJ | 29.1 | 141.2 | 1.0% | 12.4% | 244 |
| 58 | Nassau County-Suffolk County, NY Metro Div | 27.2 | 167.6 | -0.4% | 11.8% | 256 |
| 59 | Richmond, VA | 26.8 | 100.3 | 2.4% | 10.1% | 260 |
| 60 | Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA Metro Div | 26.5 | 192.8 | 1.6% | 8.8% | 262 |
| 61 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | 26.1 | 104.3 | 2.0% | 5.8% | 264 |
| 62 | Pittsburgh, PA | 25.8 | 173.6 | 0.2% | 13.5% | 267 |
| 63 | Bergen-Hudson-Passaic, NJ | 25.1 | 140.7 | -0.5% | 11.1% | 275 |
| 64 | Rochester, NY | 23.5 | 66.3 | -0.5% | 10.1% | 286 |
| 65 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Div | 21.3 | 584.9 | 1.3% | 5.8% | 300 |
| 66 | Newark, NJ-PA Metro Div | 19.9 | 212.7 | 0.0% | 4.6% | 306 |
| 67 | Northern Virginia, VA | 17.4 | 374.6 | -0.2% | 4.6% | 325 |
| 68 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY | 17.0 | 71.8 | -0.2% | 2.2% | 330 |
| 69 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 16.5 | 51.4 | -0.6% | 2.6% | 332 |
| 70 | Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, MD Metro Div | 15.9 | 121.7 | -0.1% | -0.2% | 336 |
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