Northwest Arkansas once again is topping the ranks for job growth.
The area ranked No. 3 for midsize metropolitan statistical areas in Forbes magazine and New Geography’s “2013 Best Cities for Job Growth.” The area ranked 12th nationally for all metro sizes.
Forbes released the rankings in May and New Geography posted them this week.
The metropolitan statistical area encompasses Washington, Benton and Madison counties in Arkansas and McDonald County, Mo.
The midsized metro classification includes areas with between 150,000 and 450,000 jobs.
The Rankings
Job Growth
New Geography ranked the best cities for job growth in 2013. The number in parenthesis indicates 2012 ranking
Midsize Areas
Boulder, Colo. (9)
Provo-Orem, Utah (7)
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.-Mo. (21)
Corpus Christi, Texas (2)
Bakersfield-Delano, Calif. (8)
Lafayette, La. (1)
Lexington-Fayette, Ky. (54)
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich. (10)
Baton Rouge, La. (29)
Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, S.C. (5)
Source: newgeography.com
Northwest Arkansas had 215,100 jobs in 2012, based on a three-month rolling average by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics used in the rankings calculation.
Boulder, Colo., and Provo, Utah, ranked ahead of the region in the midsize ranking. Northwest Arkansas was 21st in the 2012 ranking. Midland, Texas, ranked No. 1 for all sizes.
“It means we’ve rebounded faster than everyone else. I see a lot of positive indicators,” said Mike Harvey, chief operating officer of the Northwest Arkansas Council. “We continue outpacing the state and rest of the country in the recovery.”
Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the largest area of growth between 2011 and 2012 was in the service-providing sector that ranks job areas including retail trade, transportation, health care, professional services, leisure and hospitality and real estate.
“The area is showing pretty broad-based growth,” Harvey said. “I’m optimistic about the future of Northwest Arkansas.”
The annual ranking measure growth of 398 metro areas with 10 years of available data.