I know we aren’t Seattle . but we’re close – so whatever happens up there tends to impact us over time. Forbes just ranked Seattle as the #1 locale for “business”.
A new report released Friday ranks Seattle as the best city in the nation for business and careers in 2018.
The report, by Forbes business magazine, ranked the Emerald City as No. 1 for the first time despite the high cost of doing business here.
Forbes editors heaped praise on Seattle in its description of the city:
“Seattle rates as Forbes’ best city for business for the first time. Credit a booming economy, educated work force and large millennial population.
The metro area is home to the two richest people on the planet in Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates. The two tech titans are worth a combined $250 billion.
Seattle’s most well known nickname is “the Emerald City,” in reference to the lush evergreen forests of the area. Seattle is also referred to informally as the Rain City and Jet City, the latter title referring to the local influence of Boeing, the multi-national aerospace company which was founded in Seattle (Boeing moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago in 2001).
The Port of Seattle, which also operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, is a major gateway for trade with Asia and cruises to Alaska, and is one of the largest port in the United States in terms of container capacity.
Seattle has a reputation for heavy coffee consumption. Coffee companies founded or based in Seattle include Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Tully’s.
The city is home to the prestigious University of Washington as well as Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, City University of Seattle and Antioch University Seattle.”
According to Forbes, the Seattle metro area has an annual gross domestic product of $288.5 billion, a median household income of $86,574 and a median home price of $564,000.
Job growth in Seattle is up 2.7 percent annually over the past five years and income has grown 4.7 percent annually in the same period even as it stagnates elsewhere in the country. And Seattle is one of the few large metro areas in America that has more people moving in than leaving.
Nearly half the Seattle metro workforce has a college degree and nearly 18 percent have a graduate degree, according to Forbes.
Tacoma, Wash., was ranked as the 10th best city for business and careers. The “City of Destiny” ranked high due to its status as Washington state’s largest port, which it dubbed “a center of international trade,” and its iconic landmarks and amenities.
Raleigh, N.C., was listed as the second-best city to do business and Portland, Ore., came in third.
The report ranked the 200 largest cities in America. The metro area that came in dead last was Atlantic City, N.J.
You can read the entire report here …