Business Facilities’ 2015 Metro Rankings Report: Austin, Nashville, Raleigh Are Metro Frontrunners

2015-metro-rankings-report-frontrunnersAustin, TX added to its impressive record of success in Business Facilities’ Metro Rankings Report with the best across-the-board showing in the magazine’s 2015 edition.

The Texas capital is BF’s top-ranked metro in its Tech Jobs Leaders and Top 10 Cities for Startups categories; Austin also ranks second in Economic Growth Potential and Fastest Broadband. With a dynamic young population growing almost as fast as its Internet speeds, Austin takes third place in BF’s tally of Fastest Growing Cities.

“This cosmopolitan high-tech hub in the Lone Star State continues to outpace the competition. It’s not a stretch to call Austin the most dynamic metro in the U.S., with unlimited potential,” said BF Editor in Chief Jack Rogers.

Nashville, TN is BF’s top-ranked metro for Economic Growth Potential. The Tennessee capital also ranks eighth in the Tech Jobs Leaders category.

“With a cost of doing business 10 percent below the U.S. average, a thriving healthcare sector and a glowing quality of life, the Music City is ready to take on all comers,” Rogers said.

The Raleigh-Durham, NC metro also notched an impressive showing in BF’s 11th annual Metro Rankings Report.

Raleigh is the top-ranked metro in a new rankings category, STEM Leaders, which ranks the locations with the highest percentage of college graduates in STEM-oriented fields.  Raleigh-Durham also tops the field in Life Sciences Clusters, closely followed by Boston and San Diego. The Raleigh area is BF’s No. 2 metro in Tech Jobs Leaders, third in Economic Growth Potential and eighth in Top Medical Device Hubs.

Durham, NC also comes in at No. 6 in BF’s new metro ranking for Advanced Manufacturing (Specialization), which is based on an analysis of the metros with the highest percentage of jobs specializing in 21st century manufacturing.

Indiana dominated the Advanced Manufacturing (Specialization) results, with Hoosier State metros Columbus, Elkhart and Kokomo ranking first, second and third, respectively. Also making the top 10 were Huntsville, AL; Boulder, CO; Midland, MI; Peoria, IL; Fond du Lac, WI; and Manchester, NH.

Rogers said BF plans to add more new categories like high-tech specialization in its future reports because these rankings give small- and mid-sized metros a chance to shine.

“Advanced manufacturing is critical to maintaining America’s status as an industrial powerhouse,” Rogers said. “Forward-thinking locations like Fond du Lac, which scored well in national surveys of high-tech manufacturing in smaller metros conducted by the Brookings and Milken institutes, deserve a place in our annual showcase.”

Click here to view the complete 2015 BF Rankings Report, including state, metro and international results.