Fort Collins cracks top 10 in Best-Performing Cities ranking

By Lucas High

FORT COLLINS — Fort Collins was named the country’s ninth best-performing city in terms of economic expansion and job creation by the Milken Institute. The nonprofit think tank’s annual Best-Performing Cities report evaluates and ranks cities and metropolitan areas using metrics such as job creation, wage gains, and technological developments. This is the second year in a row that Fort Collins was ranked in the top 10. The city was the fifth best-performing city in last year’s report. Milken Institute cites Fort Collins’ “healthy startup scene” and the availability of young talent generated by Colorado State University as assets that make it one of the country’s most promising areas for economic growth. “A growing population contributes to an overall increase in demand for services. For instance, ambulatory health-care services added 3,290 jobs in the five years ending in 2017,” according to a report. “Construction related industries have also been growing to keep up with demand as housing has become scarce and overvalued.” Other Northern Colorado and Boulder Valley cities were included in the report. Greeley was ranked 42nd, up 31 spots from last year. Boulder dropped 20 spots this year with a ranking of the 62nd best performing city.

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