Recognizing the importance of sustainable growth, rankings include measures of community resilience, income inequality, in addition to labor market performance, high-tech sector’s impact, and access to economic opportunities
Raleigh, NC is the best-performing large metropolitan area, according to the 2025 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities (BPC) report, taking the top spot in the rankings following two consecutive years of ranking among the top-three large cities. Among small cities, Gainesville, GA tops the index after being featured among the BPC's top 10 small metropolitan areas every year since 2016. These cities’ rankings were fostered by strong job and wage growth and a robust high-tech presence.
The index, published annually since 1999, reflects cities’ effectiveness at leveraging their resources to promote economic growth and provide their residents with access to the essential services and infrastructure needed for success. The index is based on job creation, wage growth, and the high-tech sector’s output growth, in addition to measures of access to economic opportunities, such as housing affordability and broadband coverage.
The 2025 index and rankings are mainly based on data from 2023, the most recent data available. During that year, the US labor market added more than 2.8 million jobs across metropolitan areas, with metros accounting for 88.2 percent of all US jobs.
“Raleigh and Gainesville have both experienced remarkable employment and wage growth, coupled with robust performance in their access to economic opportunities indicators. These metro areas prove that strong economic performance is possible in an environment that provides residents with the opportunities necessary to thrive,” said Maggie Switek, PhD, senior director of research at the Milken Institute.
This year’s top-performing cities had several common themes, including robust labor market conditions, widespread access to broadband internet, and relatively low levels of income inequality. While remarking on the strong performance of top-ranked cities, this year’s BPC report also noted that cities that offer higher wages and lower costs of living remain attractive to younger generations of workers.
Having experienced several years of good labor market conditions, Raleigh received the top ranking with high levels of employment growth and wage growth over the last five years.
“Raleigh consistently tops best-of lists for good reasons. Our highly educated pipeline of talent, innovative start-ups, and low cost of doing business attract high-tech firms, advanced manufacturing, and corporate headquarters from all over the world. Our parks and greenways, our vibrant downtown, and our diverse music, art, and restaurant scene offer plenty of options to enjoy time with family and friends outside of work. We’re honored to receive this recognition of our efforts from the Milken Institute,” said Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell.
Gainesville, GA, a long-time contender for the top spot, tops the list of small cities for the first time. The metro’s top position is due to its strong performance across all components of the index, signaling that growth has been sustainable and inclusive.
“It’s an incredible honor and privilege to have the Milken Institute select the city of Gainesville as the best-performing small metropolitan area in the United States,” said Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon. “It’s recognitions such as these that reaffirm the city’s meticulous actions and make every difficult decision made on behalf of the taxpayers worthwhile while also helping us identify areas of improvement. I think I speak on behalf of the Gainesville City Council, city management, and staff when I say this distinction will further motivate us to keep these trends, and this community, moving forward.”
The index ranks cities into five tiers, allowing stakeholders such as policymakers, business leaders, and residents to compare their economic performance more easily to their peers. Notably, this year’s ranking illustrates a key trend among US large metros that reflects the rising performance of relatively less populous big metropolitan areas, such as Olympia–Tumwater, WA, Huntsville, AL, and Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR–MO.
Key findings from the 2025 Best-Performing Cities index:
- Raleigh, NC ascends to the No. 1 ranking among large cities due to its strong employment conditions and robust high-tech sector. Ogden–Clearfield, UT; Salt Lake City, UT; Huntsville, AL; and Colorado Springs, CO round out the top five.
- Gainesville, GA claims the No. 1 ranking among small cities due to its sustained high performance across many metrics.
- Tulsa, OK saw the largest increase, rising 99 places to the 86th position, driven by robust labor market conditions. Oklahoma City, OK saw the second largest increase in the rankings.
- San Francisco, CA experienced the most dramatic decline, dropping by 99 spots to its current 126th position. The region’s fall was driven mainly by a sharp downturn in the technology sector. Employment in the information sector saw the most pronounced decline.
“Metro areas with labor markets characterized by the presence of multiple industries tend to display more stable growth due to their resilience to sectoral downturns, such as the one experienced by leisure and hospitality in 2020 or the tech sector more recently,” added Switek.
How We Evaluate Cities
The index measures economic vitality in 200 large metropolitan areas and 203 small metropolitan areas by assessing performance of the labor market, tech sector, and access to economic opportunities. The 2025 version of the index emphasizes jobs, wages, high-tech growth, housing affordability, and broadband coverage, in addition to metrics of community resilience and income inequality.
To ensure that population size doesn't skew results, the index divides US metropolitan areas into large and small cities, which are then classified into five tiers, with Tier 1 being the highest-ranked cities and Tier 5 being the lowest-ranked cities. The Best-Performing Cities interactive map allows users to compare cities' performance relative to their peers, determined by city size and ranking tier.
2025 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index
LARGE US CITIES: TIER I
Raleigh, NC
Ogden–Clearfield, UT
Salt Lake City, UT
Huntsville, AL
Colorado Springs, CO
Austin–Round Rock, TX
Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR–MO
Olympia–Tumwater, WA
Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville, FL
Boise City, ID
Charleston–North Charleston, SC
Myrtle Beach–Conway–North Myrtle Beach, SC–NC
SMALL US CITIES: TIER I
Gainesville, GA
St. George, UT
Idaho Falls, ID
Bend–Redmond, OR
Midland, TX
Jefferson City, MO
Coeur d'Alene, ID
Jacksonville, NC
Missoula, MT
Auburn–Opelika, AL
The Villages, FL
Winchester, VA–WV
Elizabethtown–Fort Knox, KY
Wenatchee, WA
Lawrence, KS
Members of the media are invited to a virtual overview of the 2025 Best-Performing Cities on Thursday, January 16, from 3 to 4 p.m. ET. Maggie Switek, senior director of research and lead report author, will moderate the event, which will feature dialogue with mayors from this year’s top-performing cities. Register for the virtual event here.
About the Milken Institute
The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank focused on accelerating measurable progress on the path to a meaningful life. With a focus on financial, physical, mental, and environmental health, we bring together the best ideas and innovative resourcing to develop blueprints for tackling some of our most critical global issues through the lens of what’s pressing now and what’s coming next. For more information, visit https://milkeninstitute.org/.
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Contacts
Paul Guequierre
Email: pguequierre@milkeninstitute.org
Phone: (202) 249-6942
