Economy & Economic Development  February 22, 2021

Milken Institute: FoCo one of nation’s best economically performing cities

LOS ANGELES — Fort Collins is the 12th best performing city in the nation, according to a new think tank report that ranks metropolitan statistical areas using economic indicators such as job creation, wage growth and innovation industry metrics.

Greeley and Boulder weighed in as the 43rd and 44th ranked MSAs, respectively, on the 2021 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities index. 

Fort Collins, which jumped nine spots from 2020’s index, “experienced impressive high-tech GDP growth of 11.5% from 2018-19 (10th), while wages and employment grew 37.8% (15th) and 16.7% (19th), respectively,” according to the report.

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“Fort Collins also enjoys well-established employer-education linkages that have sustained the regional economy through the COVID-19 pandemic,” Milken economists wrote.

Specifically, the index notes that Colorado State University offers “high-tech employers a talented workforce and access to research facilities.”

While the Fort Collins area is less expensive than some nearby cities such as Boulder and Denver, the city “performed poorly in measures of housing affordability, ranking 164th and 138th in our one- and five-year measures, respectively,” according to the report.

An ongoing cost of living challenge relates to home prices rising more quickly than wages, and Milken notes the importance of increasing the area’s housing inventory.

“The pandemic has had an outsized impact on cities where the economic effects of the current recession are exacerbated by high housing costs,” Kevin Klowden, executive director of the Milken Institute Center for Regional Economics, said in a statement accompanying the report. “By measuring for factors such as jobs, wages, and high-tech growth, the Best-Performing Cities Index offers analysis of how metro areas have fared based on the resilience of their local economy. And by incorporating data designed to gauge inclusivity, it provides important insights into how cities will be prepared to meet challenges and opportunities for future growth post-pandemic.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities index ranks metropolitan statistical areas. 

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LOS ANGELES — Fort Collins is the 12th best performing city in the nation, according to a new think tank report that ranks metropolitan statistical areas using economic indicators such as job creation, wage growth and innovation industry metrics.

Greeley and Boulder weighed in as the 43rd and 44th ranked MSAs, respectively, on the 2021 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities index. 

Fort Collins, which jumped nine spots from 2020’s index, “experienced impressive high-tech GDP growth of 11.5% from 2018-19 (10th), while wages and employment grew 37.8% (15th) and 16.7% (19th), respectively,” according to the report.

“Fort Collins also enjoys well-established employer-education linkages that have…

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