Springfield ranks on Forbes' best business cities list

Last edited 3:09 p.m., Sept. 25, 2013

Springfield ranks in the top 100 on Forbes Magazine's U.S. cities list based on cost of business, job growth, education and other factors.

Forbes' 200-city list of the Best Places for Business and Careers ranks the Queen City at No. 72. Springfield slipped five spots from last year's list.

Springfield fared the best in the cost of doing business category, ranking No. 8. The city also ranked 87th in job growth and 136th in education.

According to its profile, the Springfield metropolitan area is home to some 445,100 people, a large amount of which work in the major industries of health care, agribusiness and tourism. The gross metropolitan product is $18.4 billion, median household income is $41,158 and the cost of living sits 8.4 percent below the national average, according to Forbes. The city also records a 25.3 percent college attainment rate, as well as 1.5 percent job growth in 2012.

Topping Forbes' list is Des Moines, Iowa, which ranked 33rd in the cost of doing business, 35th in job growth and 34th in education.