Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News
Forbes Magazine ranks Las Cruces No. 14 on its “Best Small Places for Business and Careers” list.
The rankings look at cities from across the U.S. and are based on 12 areas relating to past and future projected job growth, business and living costs, income growth, education and projected economic growth. Quality of life areas such as crime rate, cultural and recreational opportunities and net migration patterns are also factors in determining the rankings.
Las Cruces’ metro area, with a population of 210,000, previously made the list four times before from 2002-2005. Manhattan, Kan., is ranked No. 1 on the list.
Forbes also released a list of “The Best Places for Business” without regard to city size. The top city on that list Raleigh, N.C. El Paso checks in at No. 36 while Forbes ranks Albuquerque No. 36 on that list. Las Cruces was not in the Top 50 of that list.
Forbes reports that “For the most active areas of job creation (and lower costs of doing business) you have to go to the heartland, home to 80 percent of the top 25 regions on our list of Best Places for Business.
“In most of these hot hubs you’ll find a strong university or two, providing rich cultural life and the kind of technology transfer that sparks entrepreneurial activity – giving that educated population lots of reasons to stick around.”
