The Senate Site: Best Performing Cities

Good news. Here's the report.

Tom Harvey in the Salt Lake Tribune:

Utah's urban corridor is at the forefront of the "new economy."

So much so that three Wasatch Front metro areas are in the Top 25 in the United States in the annual Best-Performing Cities index compiled by the Milken Institute and Greenstreet Real Estate Partners. Provo-Orem is in the No. 1 spot, with Salt Lake City at No. 3 and Ogden-Clearfield 18th.

The rankings speak to Utah's combination of institutions of higher education that spin off research into commercial products, the concentration of high-tech and medical science companies and a competitive pool of capital.

Report author Russ DeVol, an economist and director of Regional Economics at the Milken Institute, also cited the low cost of doing business in Utah, a pro-business attitude and the state's comparatively small exposure to the subprime mortgage crisis.

"So Utah overall has been the best performer in the past few years," said DeVol.

Ace Stryker, Daily Herald:

The Provo-Orem statistical area is the nation's "best-performing" city, according to a report out today.

The Milken Institute, a California-based economic think-tank, says the area jumped from eighth place last year to first this year based on strong job growth, wage appreciation and the health of the high-tech industry. Much of that can be attributed to its rapid recovery from the dot-com bust of the early 2000s from which other places are still recovering, said Ross DeVol, director of regional economics at the Institute.

"Provo actually has seen its high-tech employment rise above its previous peak in 2001," he said. "There aren't many places in the country that can say that."

Brice Wallace, Deseret News: