Read about how we selected the 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth
View the interactive map
This year's rankings use four measures of growth to rank all 398 metro areas for which full data sets were available from the past 10 years. "Large" areas include those with a current nonfarm emplymt 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 current size of each MSA’s employment. Only two MSAs changed size categories, with Honolulu, HI moving from “Midsized” to “Large” and Savannah, GA moving from “Small” to “Midsized.” In the instances where the analysis refers to changes in ranking order within the size categories, these two MSA’s changes are reported as if they had been included in their current category in the prior year.
| 2013 Rank Among Medium Cities | Area | 2013 Weighted INDEX | 2012 Nonfarm Employment (1000s) | Size Mvmnt | 2012 Size Ranking |
| 1 | Boulder, CO | 86.2 | 171.2 | 8 | 9 |
| 2 | Provo-Orem, UT | 83.9 | 198.0 | 5 | 7 |
| 3 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO | 81.9 | 215.1 | 18 | 21 |
| 4 | Corpus Christi, TX | 80.9 | 187.0 | -2 | 2 |
| 5 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 79.9 | 243.8 | 3 | 8 |
| 6 | Lafayette, LA | 77.1 | 157.3 | -5 | 1 |
| 7 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | 74.7 | 260.0 | 47 | 54 |
| 8 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | 73.8 | 390.2 | 2 | 10 |
| 9 | Baton Rouge, LA | 73.2 | 380.7 | 20 | 29 |
| 10 | Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC | 72.2 | 304.4 | -5 | 5 |
| 11 | Kansas City, KS | 71.3 | 446.9 | 5 | 16 |
| 12 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 71.2 | 233.6 | -9 | 3 |
| 13 | Springfield, MO | 70.0 | 200.0 | 20 | 33 |
| 14 | Ann Arbor, MI | 69.7 | 207.0 | 8 | 22 |
| 15 | Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA | 68.4 | 171.0 | 11 | 26 |
| 16 | Ogden-Clearfield, UT | 68.1 | 201.6 | 26 | 42 |
| 17 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 68.1 | 285.9 | 3 | 20 |
| 18 | Boise City-Nampa, ID | 67.5 | 267.7 | 35 | 53 |
| 19 | Asheville, NC | 67.5 | 173.9 | -6 | 13 |
| 20 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 67.2 | 328.7 | 20 | 40 |
| 21 | Trenton-Ewing, NJ | 66.7 | 245.7 | -3 | 18 |
| 22 | Lincoln, NE | 65.6 | 177.8 | -8 | 14 |
| 23 | El Paso, TX | 63.8 | 286.0 | -19 | 4 |
| 24 | Canton-Massillon, OH | 62.6 | 167.2 | -5 | 19 |
| 25 | Savannah, GA | 62.5 | 157.9 | -8 | 76 |
| 26 | Reading, PA | 61.1 | 172.2 | 1 | 27 |
| 27 | Anchorage, AK | 60.8 | 176.3 | 11 | 38 |
| 28 | Green Bay, WI | 58.7 | 169.4 | 8 | 36 |
| 29 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 58.5 | 345.6 | -5 | 24 |
| 30 | Framingham, MA NECTA Division | 57.1 | 158.9 | -15 | 15 |
| 31 | Knoxville, TN | 57.0 | 334.1 | -25 | 6 |
| 32 | Baltimore City, MD | 56.8 | 360.1 | -20 | 12 |
| 33 | Tulsa, OK | 56.5 | 427.0 | 2 | 35 |
| 34 | Fort Wayne, IN | 56.4 | 208.5 | 0 | 34 |
| 35 | Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC | 55.3 | 309.3 | -18 | 17 |
| 36 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 54.9 | 445.0 | 12 | 48 |
| 37 | Colorado Springs, CO | 54.0 | 252.7 | 25 | 62 |
| 38 | Columbia, SC | 53.3 | 355.9 | -1 | 37 |
| 39 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 52.6 | 211.9 | 11 | 50 |
| 40 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | 52.1 | 249.5 | 33 | 73 |
| 41 | Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 51.9 | 325.7 | 6 | 47 |
| 42 | Peoria, IL | 51.6 | 183.6 | -31 | 11 |
| 43 | Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY | 50.9 | 253.8 | -18 | 25 |
| 44 | Akron, OH | 50.7 | 327.3 | 31 | 75 |
| 45 | Spokane, WA | 50.2 | 209.7 | 35 | 80 |
| 46 | Jackson, MS | 49.5 | 259.0 | -14 | 32 |
| 47 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 49.1 | 343.5 | -4 | 43 |
| 48 | Winston-Salem, NC | 49.0 | 207.4 | 13 | 61 |
| 49 | York-Hanover, PA | 48.6 | 179.1 | -21 | 28 |
| 50 | Roanoke, VA | 48.5 | 159.1 | 28 | 78 |
| 51 | Chattanooga, TN-GA | 48.2 | 237.0 | 6 | 57 |
| 52 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL | 48.2 | 163.5 | 30 | 82 |
| 53 | Lancaster, PA | 48.2 | 230.5 | 3 | 56 |
| 54 | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 47.9 | 182.7 | 33 | 87 |
| 55 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 47.8 | 281.9 | 13 | 68 |
| 56 | Tacoma, WA Metropolitan Division | 47.4 | 271.0 | -4 | 52 |
| 57 | Madison, WI | 47.0 | 348.7 | -11 | 46 |
| 58 | Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 46.8 | 215.3 | 6 | 64 |
| 59 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | 46.4 | 157.2 | 1 | 60 |
| 60 | Worcester, MA-CT NECTA | 46.1 | 244.7 | -21 | 39 |
| 61 | Stockton, CA | 45.4 | 191.9 | 8 | 69 |
| 62 | Tucson, AZ | 45.3 | 366.3 | 8 | 70 |
| 63 | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA | 44.8 | 256.9 | -22 | 41 |
| 64 | Fresno, CA | 44.7 | 284.6 | 1 | 65 |
| 65 | New Haven, CT NECTA | 44.2 | 271.3 | -16 | 49 |
| 66 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 44.1 | 160.6 | 0 | 66 |
| 67 | Evansville, IN-KY | 44.0 | 176.1 | -44 | 23 |
| 68 | Gary, IN Metropolitan Division | 41.7 | 272.2 | -17 | 51 |
| 69 | Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division | 41.4 | 383.5 | 10 | 79 |
| 70 | Huntsville, AL | 41.3 | 209.4 | -11 | 59 |
| 71 | Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME NECTA | 40.6 | 190.1 | -4 | 67 |
| 72 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division | 38.6 | 336.9 | 12 | 84 |
| 73 | Reno-Sparks, NV | 37.7 | 192.5 | 13 | 86 |
| 74 | Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 36.7 | 194.7 | 15 | 89 |
| 75 | Syracuse, NY | 36.3 | 316.1 | -20 | 55 |
| 76 | Montgomery, AL | 36.1 | 167.1 | 14 | 90 |
| 77 | Toledo, OH | 36.0 | 305.8 | -1 | 76 |
| 78 | Calvert-Charles-Prince George's, MD | 35.6 | 378.5 | -34 | 44 |
| 79 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 33.9 | 173.3 | 12 | 91 |
| 80 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | 33.4 | 196.7 | 5 | 85 |
| 81 | Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 32.6 | 175.5 | -51 | 30 |
| 82 | Tallahassee, FL | 30.7 | 166.4 | -11 | 71 |
| 83 | Mobile, AL | 28.6 | 174.2 | -20 | 63 |
| 84 | Greensboro-High Point, NC | 28.4 | 343.6 | -1 | 83 |
| 85 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT NECTA | 27.2 | 404.2 | -8 | 77 |
| 86 | Albuquerque, NM | 26.8 | 366.8 | -12 | 74 |
| 87 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 25.2 | 218.0 | -56 | 31 |
| 88 | Dayton, OH | 24.8 | 377.9 | -30 | 58 |
| 89 | Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA | 24.4 | 225.0 | -8 | 81 |
| 90 | Wichita, KS | 22.9 | 288.0 | -2 | 88 |
| 91 | Springfield, MA-CT NECTA | 19.9 | 281.7 | -19 | 72 |
Email this Best
