Policom: Seattle, WA Strongest Economy in America

[one...two...tree 2,762]

drug pushers will be moving into this niche market: yo dog! want some sugar daddies? how about a jolly rancher?

...or worse. Mothers will be making their own candy at home and offering it to the neighborhood kids for free. This would force Marc to become neighborly.

[SMR 368]

Seattle, WA Strongest Economy in America

The Seattle, WA metropolitan area has the strongest local economy in the nation according to POLICOM Corporation’s annual economic strength rankings. Edwards, CO is top among the “Micropolitan” areas which are smaller urban centers.

"The top rated areas have had rapid, consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period of time," William H. Fruth, President of POLICOM. POLICOM, located in Palm City, FL, specializes in analyzing local and state economies.

"The rankings do not reflect the latest ‘hotspot’ or boom town, but the areas which have the best economic foundation,” Fruth continued. “While most communities have slowed or declined during this recession, the strongest areas have been able to weather the storm.”

...

"Economic strength is the long-term tendency for an area to consistently grow in both size and quality," commented Fruth.

The study measures 23 different economic factors over a twenty-year period to create the rankings. The formulas determine how an economy has behaved over an extended period of time. Data stretching from 1989 to 2008 was used for this study.

Metropolitan areas must have a city of at least 50,000 people and are typically more than one county. Micropolitan areas are smaller economies and do not have city with a population greater than 50,000 people. They are typically one county and, according to William Fruth, their economies fluctuate much more than the larger Metropolitan areas.

...

2010: 20 Strongest Among 366 Metropolitan Areas

1 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

2 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

3 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO

4 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX

5 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA

6 Salt Lake City, UT

7 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

8 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA

9 Madison, WI

10 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

11 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC

12 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX

13 Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN

14 Olympia, WA

15 Raleigh-Cary, NC

16 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ

17 Kansas City, MO-KS

18 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA

19 Trenton-Ewing, NJ 19

20 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 20

2010: 20 Stongest Among 576 Micropolitan Areas

1 Edwards, CO

2 Gillette, WY

3 Durango, CO

4 Hilton Head Island-Beaufort, SC

5 Rock Springs, WY

6 Helena, MT

7 Bozeman, MT

8 Concord, NH

9 Kahului-Wailuku, HI

10 Jackson, WY-ID

11 Evanston, WY

12 Sheridan, WY

13 Lexington Park, MD

14 Montrose, CO

15 Statesville-Mooresville, NC

16 Lebanon, NH-VT

17 Truckee-Grass Valley, CA

18 Torrington, CT

19 Carlsbad-Artesia, NM

20 Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL

Interesting. If Seattle is the best it gets, this country is in trouble. I used to live in the Seattle area. I moved last autumn to follow a job and I know a lot of people that did the same.