The Huntsville Regional Economic Growth Initiative (HREGI ...

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY
Milken Institute Recognition Gives Huntsville Another Top-5 National Ranking
The Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank,
recently ranked Huntsville the third best performing metro
in the nation in its 2010 list of best performing cities.
Huntsville jumped five spots from last year’s ranking of
eight.
Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County
Board Chairman Don Nalley said the recognition is significant
in the Chamber’s economic development and workforce
recruitment efforts.
“Not everyone is seeing every ranking or recognition
that our community is receiving,” Nalley said. “But it is
apparent that many of our targeted industries or potential
workforce candidates from other parts of the country are
seeing some of these rankings. This Milken Institute recognition
is another top five ranking that illustrates that our
local economy remains one of the best in the United States.
Increasingly we see companies approaching us wanting
more information about expanding into our community –
because of some ranking or recognition such as this one
that they may have seen.”
The Best-Performing Cities index was designed to measure
objectively which U.S. metropolitan areas are most
successful in terms of job creation and retention, the quality
of jobs being produced and overall economic performance.
Specifically, it pinpoints where jobs are being created and
maintained, where wages and salaries are increasing, and
where economies and businesses are growing and thriving.
“Our city is on an unprecedented roll in receiving
national recognition. Rankings like these give us a quick
gauge of where we stand as a city, not just in our state, but
nationally. Huntsville has a strong economy, a diverse workforce
and a growing job base. When those factors combine
with an incredible quality of life, it’s hard to find a better
city than ours,” Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said. “We
are proud of our rising place on the Milken Institute’s ‘Best
Performing Cities’ list and thankful for our local businesses,
employers and residents for the work they do in getting
us there.”
The report cites the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure
(BRAC) decision that is bringing more than 4,600
jobs to Huntsville and a high-tech economy as reasons for
Huntsville’s high ranking.
“Huntsville is benefiting from base consolidation decisions
made in 2005 but adds high-tech to the mix of
reasons it is a consistent performer. Redstone Arsenal is
home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the Missile
Defense Agency, and more than 60 government agencies
and organizations with more than $50 billion in total annual
budgets. Slightly more than half of the 35,000 people
who work behind the Redstone Arsenal’s gates every day
are civilian government employees, and the remainder are
government contractors,” the report states.
The report continues its analysis of the community’s
economy by saying: “Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and
Lockheed Martin all have a major presence and spawn thousands
of jobs in other industries. Huntsville is reported to
have the nation’s highest concentration of engineers per capita.
Excluding federal, state, and local government, three of
the top five private-sector industries are high-tech services.”
The Top 10 included:
1. Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX
2. Austin-Round Rock, TX
3. Huntsville, AL
4. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
5. Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA
6. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV*
7. Raleigh-Cary, NC
8. Anchorage, AK
9. El Paso, TX
10. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX •
10 December 2010 Initiatives