Boulder area No. 15 on performance index

BOULDER – The Boulder area was among the metropolitan areas with the best economic performance over the past year, according to a survey of economic growth released Thursday by a think tank.

According to the Santa Monica, California-based Milken Institute, Boulder County ranked 15 on its annual Best-Performing Cities index. The index factors in job and salary growth over the past year and five years and the success of an area’s technology sector.

Boulder and the rest of Boulder County jumped up from 59th in last year’s ranking, mostly because of the growth of area high-tech industries, which are weighed heavily…