| Forbes magazine recently released the annual top ten | | | | The following are the top ten best small metro cities to |
| rankings of best small cities for business and careers. | | | | live and work and their approximate populations: |
| These best cities to live and work were chosen based | | | | 1. Sioux Falls, S.D.: Sioux Falls captured the top spot of |
| on a variety of factors such as availability of labor, tax | | | | smaller cities that are best for business and careers. |
| rates and other living costs, quality of life issues, | | | | The metro area consists of 210,000 residents. |
| educational opportunities, crime rates and cultural and | | | | 2. Bismarck, N.D.: Bismarck ranked second in the list |
| recreational opportunities. | | | | and has a population of 100,000. |
| The rankings of best cities in the U.S. were partly | | | | 3. Columbia, Mo.: Columbia with a population of 154,000 |
| based on data supplied by Economy.com, a | | | | clinched the third place. |
| Pennsylvania-based economic research firm. The | | | | 4. Fargo, N.D.: At fourth place was Fargo, North |
| firm's business cost index factors in the costs of labor, | | | | Dakota with approximately 186,000 residents. |
| taxes, energy and office space. Cost of living was | | | | 5. Iowa City, Iowa: Fifth on the list of best small cities to |
| considered by various aspects such as housing, utilities, | | | | live and work was Iowa City with a total population of |
| transportation, and food and household expenditures. | | | | 139,000. |
| The firm also provided five-year annualized figures on | | | | 6. Bloomington, Ind.: Bloomington was sixth on the |
| job and income growth and migration trends. | | | | annual list of the best smaller metro areas for business |
| Another research firm that contributed towards the | | | | and careers and has a population of 139,000. |
| rankings is Sperling's Best Places. Forbes magazine | | | | 7. Rapid City, S.D.: South Dakota's Rapid City was |
| uses the culture and leisure index developed by | | | | number seven on the list. The metro area has a |
| Researcher Bertrand Sperling of Sperling's 'Best | | | | population of 119,000 residents. |
| Places to Live' fame for quality-of-life issues such as | | | | 8. Las Cruces, N.M.: Las Cruces, New Mexico ranked |
| cultural and recreational opportunities. The culture and | | | | eighth with a population of 193,000. |
| leisure index is based on museums, theaters, golf | | | | 9. Morgantown, W.Va.: At ninth spot was Morgantown, |
| course, sports teams and other activities. The data | | | | West Virginia with a population of 115,000 residents. |
| also includes the education scenario in the cities and | | | | 10. Johnson City, Tenn.: Rounding up the top ten smaller |
| the presence of four-year colleges. Crime rates of the | | | | metros was Johnson City, Tennessee. The metro |
| cities were sourced from the FBI Index of Crime. | | | | area has about 190,000 residents. |