A leading index of economic growth shows a dramatic improvement for the Roanoke Region. Roanoke rose 42 positions to No. 126 out of the 200 largest U.S. metro areas, according to the 2009 Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners Best-Performing Cities Index.
The Roanoke Region was the highest-ranking of Virginia's major metropolitan areas for high-tech GDP growth from 2007-08. The overall index ranks U.S. metropolitan areas by how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth.
The components include jobs, wages and salaries as well as technology growth. While Roanoke's overall position improved, other Southern metro areas, including Asheville, N.C., Greenville, S.C., Chattanooga, Tenn., and Raleigh, N.C., fell in the overall ranking. Roanoke was higher than Chattanooga (172) and Greensboro, N.C. (154).
"Once again, a comprehensive national index shows the Roanoke Region improving in a variety of measures," says Beth Doughty, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership. "What's particularly gratifying is that the Roanoke Region climbed in the rankings while many cities in the South declined."
(From press release.)
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