Forbes Announces 2009 List of Best Cities to Work, Best Places for Business and Careers

Since it is the weekend, we are going to indulge in a somewhat off-topic post, but one that is certainly relevant during a recession that has made career and business planing more transient than at any time in recent memory.

Back at the end of March, Forbes announced its annual list of the best places for business and careers. For the 11th time, Forbes broke down the best cities to work and start a business by metro and small metro areas.

And, for purposes of full disclosure, what really caught my eye about this list and encouraged me to post this afternoon is that my hometown – Bloomington, Indiana – was rated #4 on the list of best cities to work and best small-metro places for business and careers.

So let’s take a look at the top 10 metro and small-metro places for business and careers, as compiled by Forbes based on the following criteria:

• Cost of doing business
• Crime rate
• Educational attainment
• Living costs
• Projected income growth
• Projected job growth

Small-Metro Best Cities to Work – Best Places for Business and Careers

(Note: Top 10 category placements in parentheses.)

1. Sioux Falls, South Dakota (#3 in cost of doing business)
2. Greenville, North Carolina (#4 in cost of doing business)
3. Morgantown, West Virginia
4. Bloomington, Indiana
5. Columbia, Missouri (#6 in educational attainment)
6. Bismark, North Dakota (#10 in projected job growth)
7. Fargo, North Dakota
8. Lafayette, Indiana
9. Iowa City, Iowa (#5 in educational attainment)
10. Auburn, Alabama (#1 in projected job growth)

>>>View the complete Forbes list of small-metro best cities to work – best places for business and careers

Metro Best Cities to Work – Best Places for Business and Careers

(Note: Top 10 category placements in parentheses.)

1. Raleigh, North Carolina (#4 in projected job growth)
2. Fort Collins, Colorado (#6 in educational attainment)
3. Durham, North Carolina (#8 in educational attainment)
4. Fayetteville, Arkansas
5. Lincoln, Nebraska
6. Asheville, North Carolina (#2 in cost of doing business)
7. Des Moines, Iowa
8. Austin, Texas (#8 in projected job growth)
9. Boise, Idaho
10. Colorado Springs, Colorado

>>>View the complete Forbes list of metro best cities to work – best places for business and careers

Related Resources:

• Complete Forbes report on best places for business and careers
• Metro areas: best cities to work in pictures
• Small metro areas: best cities to work in pictures
• You Are Where You Live — (Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes.com)
• Best Cities to Work and Live — (Forbes reader reactions, Forbes.com)
• Can college towns remain strong among the best cities to work and live in recession? — (Jesse Bogan and Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes.com)
• Texas cities dominate Forbes list of best cities to work — (Dallas Morning News)

Tags: careers, Forbes list, list