RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Remember that “Best Cities for Jobs” list from Forbes earlier this year that ranked Raleigh as No. 1?
Well, guess what. Forbes has released a revised list based on updated data for 2006, and the city of Oaks was toppled from the top spot.
Salt Lake City is the new No. 1.
However, Raleigh still made a strong showing, coming in at No. 2 after finishing No. 1 for 2005.
Based on Forbes’ five criteria in measuring the country’s top metros, Raleigh’s marks were:
• Median Household Income Rank: 30
• Unemployment Rank: 17
• Income Growth Rank: 12
• Cost Of Living Rank: 47
• Job Growth Rank: 5
How did Salt Lake City move ahead? Forbes cited an increase in tech jobs, noting that “digerati” are migrating to Utah from Silicon Valley.
But the differences between the two metro areas really aren’t too different, Forbes noted.
"They’re both strong economies and very solid job markets," Moody’s Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi said. "It’s Yankees-Red Sox. What’s the difference? There is no real fundamental reason why Salt Lake is now No. 1."
Here are the rankings for Salt Lake City:
• Median Household Income Rank: 19
• Unemployment Rank: 2
• Income Growth Rank: 4
• Cost Of Living Rank: 37
• Job Growth Rank: 4
For more details, see the Web link to Forbes.
