Springfield among Forbes' Best Places for Business

Forbes magazine's 11th annual ranking of the country's Best Places for Business and Careers gives a lot of love to North Carolina and Colorado - but Springfield is also among the top cities.

Springfield ranked No. 36 on the list, which ranks 200 metropolitan areas based on a number of factors including cost of doing business, cost of living, education levels, and current and projected job growth and unemployment figures.

Among Springfield's strong qualities were the cost of doing business, where the city ranked No. 10, net migration (No. 25) and job growth (No. 32).

In 2008, Springfield ranked No. 19 on the list.

Also high on the newest list were a couple of Arkansas cities - Fayetteville at No. 4 and Little Rock at No. 22 - and Oklahoma City at No. 12.

At the top of the list for the third consecutive year was Raleigh, N.C., which scored high for both past and projected job growth, low business costs and a highly educated work force.

Raleigh was one of six North Carolina cities in the top 20, along with Durham, Asheville, Wilmington, Winston-Salem and Charlotte.

Colorado also fared well, with four cities in the top 20: Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Denver and Boulder.

The state faring worst was California; it had six of the seven lowest spots on the list, and only one city - Riverside - cracked the top 100. The state was burdened by high costs and unemployment rates, which are expected to surpass 20 percent in some places this year.[[In-content Ad]]