Below is an article published by the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation
Lehigh Valley Climbs To No. 30 On Forbes "Best" List
LEHIGH VALLEY, PA - March 27, 2008 - The Lehigh Valley jumped to 30th place on the annual list of "Best Places For Business and Careers" published this week by Forbes magazine, making it the only metropolitan region in Pennsylvania and one of only two in the Northeastern United States ranked among the top 50 on the list.
The Allentown Metropolitan Statistical Region, which includes Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties in Pennsylvania and Warren County in New Jersey, got high marks for "Costs of Doing Business" and "Job Growth" and slightly lower in the "Educational Attainment" categories reviewed by the magazine and its economic research firm, Economy.com of West Chester, PA.
The only metro region in the Northeast to rank above Allentown was Mercer County, New Jersey, which ranked 21st among the Top 200 Metropolitan Regions reviewed by the magazine and its research partner.
Forbes writer Kurt Badenhausen said "Costs of Doing Business" and "Educational Attainment" are among the more heavily weighted categories considered in the rankings. He added that net population migration and income growth are also key.
"There is something to be said for showing up in the Top 50 as a Northeastern city," Badenhausen said, noting that business costs and net migration are most often cited as drawbacks for those regions.
Badenhausen said the Allentown region's impressive climb over the past two years was also noted by the researchers. Allentown was No. 43 last year and No. 79 in 2006.
Other factors considered in the rankings are Costs of Living, Crime Rate, Culture and Leisure opportunities and number of Colleges.
Harrisburg ranked 53rd in this year's list, Scranton was 81, Pittsburgh 83 and York was listed at No. 99.
"The Lehigh Valley's progressive gains in our national ranking and leadership position in the Forbes list reflects the growing recognition of our region as a preferred location to live, work, play and build a business," said Bob Wendt, Director of Research for the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation. "It also reflects the strength of our community partners in the private and public sectors, who work collaboratively to create a welcoming business environment and quality of place to attract a capable and qualified workforce."
For more information or to view the Forbes story and the full list, go to: http://www.forbes.com/2008/03/19/best-career-cities-biz-bestplaces08-cx_kb_0319placeintro.html
Comments(1)