Springfield ranks high for business expansion

Springfield ranked No. 6 out of 331 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas for business expansion in the 2004 Mayor's Challenge in Expansion Management magazine.

The magazine cites Springfield's "excellent public schools, low health care costs and a high quality of life," according to a news release from the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

"We're known as Missouri's economic engine and for good reason," said Greg Williams, chamber senior vice president, in the news release.

"Over the past year, 25 percent of all new jobs in Missouri were created in Springfield, even though Springfield represents only 3 percent of the state's work force."

Williams said Springfield has become the center of a regional market of nearly 1 million people because of its health care systems, strong retail base and its expanding airport.

Among mid-sized metro areas those with populations between 250,000 and 1 million the magazine ranked Springfield second, just behind Des Moines, Iowa, and ahead of Fort Worth, Texas, Tallahassee, Fla., and Dayton, Ohio.

The Mayor's Challenge ranked metro areas that consistently scored well in its annual research studies, focusing on categories that corporate site selectors consider when choosing locations for expansions.