Seattle has Nation's Best Economy

Here's an encouraging article from today's Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

A study by a Florida research firm says that the Seattle area’s economy is the best in the country.
According to Policom Corp., an independent economic research firm that specializes in analyzing local and state economies, out of the nation’s 366 metropolitan statistical areas, Seattle-Tacoma Bellevue rates No. 1, moving up from last year’s No. 12 ranking. In 2006, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ranked No. 51 in the country. The company uses 23 different economic factors to create its rankings.

According to Policom, the highest-ranked areas have had rapid, consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period of time. The lowest ranked areas have been in volatile decline for an extended period of time and Policom has created economic strength rankings since 1996.

Here are the nation’s top 10 markets of all 366 markets:

2010 Ten Strongest Among 366 Metropolitan Areas
1. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue.
2. Washington, D.C.-Arlington, Va.-Alexandria, W.V.
3. Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo.
4. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas.
5. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif.
6. Salt Lake City, Utah.
7. Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa.
8. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.
9. Madison, Wisc.
10. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas.