Bloomington ranked 16th best small metro for economic factors

Mayor Mark Kruzan announced Wednesday that Bloomington has been ranked as the 16th best performing small metro in the nation.

Bloomington was one of 179 small metros across the U.S. that were compared based on the growth of jobs, wages and technology.

The rankings were produced by the Milken Institute, an independent economic global think tank.

“Economic development is synonymous with quality of life, so these rankings are a sign that the investments the City and our public and private partners are making in Bloomington truly are paying off,” Kruzan stated in a City of Bloomington press release.

The next best Indiana small metro, Columbus, was ranked 111th. The report also ranks Bloomington 8th in the 2008-2009 overall job growth and 3rd in high-tech Gross Domestic Product.

The full report can be found at http://bestcities.milkeninstitute.org/bestcities2010.taf.

— Brooke Lillard