Read about how we selected the 2014 Best Cities for Job Growth
This year's rankings use five measures of growth to rank all 398 metro areas for which full data sets were available from the past 10 years. "Large" areas include those with a current nonfarm employment base of at least 450,000 jobs. "Midsize" areas range from 150,000 to 450,000 jobs. "Small" areas have as many as 150,000 jobs. This year’s rankings reflect the current size of each MSAs employment. Only one MSA—Modesto, CA—changed size categories moving from “Small” to “Midsized.” In the instances where the analysis refers to changes in ranking order within the size categories, this MSAs changes are reported as if they had been included in their current category in the prior year.
| 2014 Rank Among Medium Cities | Area | 2014 Weighted INDEX | 2013 Nonfarm Emplmt (1000s) | Size Mvmnt | 2013 Size Ranking |
| 1 | Boulder, CO | 88.7 | 175.6 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Provo-Orem, UT | 87.9 | 209.3 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | 85.9 | 410.2 | 5 | 8 |
| 4 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 82.0 | 222.9 | 35 | 39 |
| 5 | Lafayette, LA | 81.9 | 161.8 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 79.0 | 253.7 | -1 | 5 |
| 7 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 78.7 | 340.1 | 13 | 20 |
| 8 | Boise City-Nampa, ID | 78.2 | 276.5 | 10 | 18 |
| 9 | McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 76.3 | 237.9 | 3 | 12 |
| 10 | Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO | 75.8 | 216.9 | -7 | 3 |
| 11 | Savannah, GA | 73.4 | 161.7 | 14 | 25 |
| 12 | Baton Rouge, LA | 72.9 | 389.9 | -3 | 9 |
| 13 | Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC | 71.2 | 316.4 | 22 | 35 |
| 14 | Fresno, CA | 70.7 | 310.7 | 50 | 64 |
| 15 | Springfield, MO | 70.7 | 202.5 | -2 | 13 |
| 16 | Corpus Christi, TX | 70.3 | 188.7 | -12 | 4 |
| 17 | Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC | 69.5 | 310.0 | -7 | 10 |
| 18 | Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 68.6 | 288.7 | -1 | 17 |
| 19 | Asheville, NC | 68.5 | 176.7 | 0 | 19 |
| 20 | North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | 68.2 | 260.4 | 20 | 40 |
| 21 | Lincoln, NE | 66.5 | 183.5 | 1 | 22 |
| 22 | Ogden-Clearfield, UT | 65.7 | 205.9 | -6 | 16 |
| 23 | Trenton-Ewing, NJ | 64.3 | 249.8 | -2 | 21 |
| 24 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 63.4 | 185.5 | 55 | 79 |
| 25 | Modesto, CA | 63.3 | 157.6 | 34 | 59 |
| 26 | Madison, WI | 59.5 | 360.2 | 31 | 57 |
| 27 | El Paso, TX | 58.9 | 289.2 | -4 | 23 |
| 28 | Framingham, MA NECTA Division | 58.0 | 162.3 | 2 | 30 |
| 29 | Ann Arbor, MI | 57.8 | 209.6 | -15 | 14 |
| 30 | Stockton, CA | 56.7 | 203.2 | 31 | 61 |
| 31 | Lake County-Kenosha County, IL-WI Metropolitan Division | 55.9 | 397.7 | 38 | 69 |
| 32 | Tulsa, OK | 55.0 | 436.2 | 1 | 33 |
| 33 | Reno-Sparks, NV | 54.7 | 201.1 | 40 | 73 |
| 34 | Kansas City, KS | 54.6 | 449.6 | -23 | 11 |
| 35 | Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA | 53.3 | 172.7 | -20 | 15 |
| 36 | Columbia, SC | 52.9 | 364.5 | 2 | 38 |
| 37 | Colorado Springs, CO | 52.1 | 257.3 | 0 | 37 |
| 38 | Anchorage, AK | 51.8 | 176.1 | -11 | 27 |
| 39 | Fort Wayne, IN | 49.1 | 212.9 | -5 | 34 |
| 40 | Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 48.5 | 224.4 | 47 | 87 |
| 41 | Huntsville, AL | 48.1 | 213.3 | 29 | 70 |
| 42 | New Haven, CT NECTA | 46.7 | 277.6 | 23 | 65 |
| 43 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division | 46.2 | 345.1 | 29 | 72 |
| 44 | Lexington-Fayette, KY | 46.2 | 258.2 | -37 | 7 |
| 45 | Tacoma, WA Metropolitan Division | 46.1 | 278.7 | 11 | 56 |
| 46 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | 45.3 | 159.2 | 13 | 59 |
| 47 | Knoxville, TN | 44.7 | 335.8 | -16 | 31 |
| 48 | Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 44.2 | 329.6 | -7 | 41 |
| 49 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL | 43.1 | 160.9 | 3 | 52 |
| 50 | Green Bay, WI | 42.9 | 170.0 | -22 | 28 |
| 51 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | 42.8 | 289.3 | 4 | 55 |
| 52 | Canton-Massillon, OH | 42.6 | 170.3 | -28 | 24 |
| 53 | Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 42.2 | 198.9 | 21 | 74 |
| 54 | Spokane, WA | 42.0 | 215.0 | -9 | 45 |
| 55 | Winston-Salem, NC | 41.3 | 209.3 | -7 | 48 |
| 56 | Akron, OH | 41.0 | 330.3 | -12 | 44 |
| 57 | Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY | 40.5 | 254.8 | -14 | 43 |
| 58 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT NECTA | 40.5 | 413.2 | 27 | 85 |
| 59 | Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 40.0 | 345.7 | -30 | 29 |
| 60 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 39.0 | 345.1 | -13 | 47 |
| 61 | Calvert-Charles-Prince George's, MD | 38.6 | 386.4 | 17 | 78 |
| 62 | Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME NECTA | 36.8 | 193.5 | 9 | 71 |
| 63 | Worcester, MA-CT NECTA | 36.7 | 248.9 | -3 | 60 |
| 64 | Toledo, OH | 35.6 | 308.9 | 13 | 77 |
| 65 | Lancaster, PA | 35.4 | 231.8 | -12 | 53 |
| 66 | Reading, PA | 34.6 | 170.7 | -40 | 26 |
| 67 | Chattanooga, TN-GA | 34.6 | 238.9 | -16 | 51 |
| 68 | Montgomery, AL | 34.0 | 169.0 | 8 | 76 |
| 69 | Evansville, IN-KY | 33.1 | 177.2 | -2 | 67 |
| 70 | Tallahassee, FL | 33.0 | 170.4 | 12 | 82 |
| 71 | Tucson, AZ | 32.7 | 366.4 | -9 | 62 |
| 72 | Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 32.6 | 217.4 | -14 | 58 |
| 73 | Wichita, KS | 32.6 | 290.7 | 17 | 90 |
| 74 | Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 32.6 | 446.4 | -38 | 36 |
| 75 | Greensboro-High Point, NC | 32.4 | 348.7 | 9 | 84 |
| 76 | Gary, IN Metropolitan Division | 32.4 | 273.8 | -8 | 68 |
| 77 | Roanoke, VA | 31.9 | 159.1 | -27 | 50 |
| 78 | Jackson, MS | 31.8 | 259.4 | -32 | 46 |
| 79 | Springfield, MA-CT NECTA | 31.6 | 293.3 | 12 | 91 |
| 80 | Baltimore City, MD | 29.6 | 359.3 | -48 | 32 |
| 81 | York-Hanover, PA | 26.6 | 177.0 | -32 | 49 |
| 82 | Syracuse, NY | 23.7 | 315.7 | -7 | 75 |
| 83 | Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA | 23.5 | 225.1 | 6 | 89 |
| 84 | Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 22.4 | 181.3 | -30 | 54 |
| 85 | Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 22.1 | 171.5 | -4 | 81 |
| 86 | Peoria, IL | 21.8 | 177.6 | -44 | 42 |
| 87 | Mobile, AL | 19.8 | 172.7 | -4 | 83 |
| 88 | Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA | 19.4 | 253.2 | -25 | 63 |
| 89 | Albuquerque, NM | 18.6 | 368.1 | -3 | 86 |
| 90 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | 17.9 | 194.7 | -10 | 80 |
| 91 | Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | 17.7 | 156.9 | -25 | 66 |
| 92 | Dayton, OH | 16.4 | 374.2 | -4 | 88 |
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