Reviewed by:
Milken Institute Listed These Alabama Cities On The Best-Performing Cities Index For 2021
Many Alabama cities are making huge strides on the Best-Performing Cities index for 2021 via the Milken Institute. Where did your city fall on the list?
What is the Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities index?
The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities index (BCP) is an annual list that tracks the economic performance of around 400 US metropolitan cities. Cities that make the list favor these characteristics:
- They drive nationwide economic growth.
- They have businesses creating new jobs.
- They have workers earning higher wages.
The 2021 index factored in jobs, wages and high-tech growth. Housing affordability and household broadband access were also included in the criteria to reflect the upheaval of 2020.
Alabama Cities That Made the List
Milken split their findings into two categories—large cities and small cities. Here’s how cities in Bama did. Drumroll please.
For the list of top large cities, congratulations goes to Huntsville, Alabama who rocketed 39 spots from No. 49 in 2020 to No. 10 in 2021.
Huntsville joins the ranks of large cities in Milken Institute’s top 10, including:
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Austin, Texas
- Boise, Idaho
What about other large cities like Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile?
While they haven’t landed in the top 10 (yet!), they have all made progress. Here’s the how they fared:
Montgomery, AL
- 2021 Rank – 151
- 2020 Rank – 174
Birmingham, AL
- 2021 Rank – 132
- 2020 Rank – 136
Mobile, AL
- 2021 Rank – 164
- 2020 Rank – 168
Now, on to small cities…
Can you guess which small Alabama cities made it into Milken Institute’s top 10?
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Alabama
- 2021 Rank – 5
- 2020 Rank – 14
Auburn, Alabama was close, moving from No. 23 in 2020 to No. 17 in 2021.
Kudos goes to Dothan, Alabama. The city also made an impressive leap up the list, jumping from No. 138 in 2020 over a stunning 70+ cities to land at the No. 60 spot for 2021.
Right on its heel is Decatur, Alabama, which also made some progress. The city held the No. 138 spot in 2020 and is now No. 105 for 2021.
Kudos to all of these amazing Alabama cities!
