Utah city ranked best performing metro area in U.S., two others in the top 10

PROVO, Utah  – A central Utah city has been named the best performing city in 2021.

It is based on the latest annual rankings from the Milken Institute. According to the Best-Performing Cities 2021 report from the Milken Institute, Provo has taken the top spot from San Francisco, California, who was ranked first last year.

The reports says “Provo-Orem, Utah, takes the top spot among this year’s Best-Performing Large Cities on the strength of job, wage, and high-tech GDP growth.”

The best-performing small city in the latest report is Idaho Falls, Ida.

Salt Lake City ranked fourth while Ogden came in ninth in the latest rankings. Between Provo and Ogden were Palm Bay, Fla.; Austin, Texas; Salt Lake City; Raleigh, N.C.; Boise, Ida; Phoenix; and Nashville, Tenn.

“No surprise that Utah continues to lead the rest of the nation,” he says in a tweet. “Having 3 of the top 10 best performing cities (Provo replaced San Francisco at #1) is unheard of. Utah IS the Startup State.”

Milken Institute says the Best Performing Cities Index uses an outcomes-based set of metrics, which includes job creation, output growth, and wage gains – especially in high-technology sectors – to evaluate the relative performance of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and metropolitan divisions (MDs) in the United States.

“The goal of the index is to help readers evaluate how well these cities promote economic vitality relative to their peers,” Milken Institute says.

Axios explains that San Francisco, San Jose, Reno, Seattle, and Dallas fell out of the Index’s top 10 places for job creation, wage growth, and innovation.

Milken highlights Utah’s capital as an example – “For instance, Salt Lake City moves up 21 spots to come in at No. 4.”

Axios explains that as the pandemic prompts people to move out of more expensive cities to ones that are cheaper and easier, smaller areas – like Provo and Ogden – could see an influx of new residents.

According to preliminary U.S. Census Bureau data, Utah is the fastest-growing state in terms of population over the last decade.