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The Nation's Best Cities for Business

Mar, 20, 2008

Doing business in the United States is challenging these days, but locating in the right city can make life easier.

Forbes magazine has for the tenth year in a row ranked the 200 largest metro areas according to their business acumen. Cities topping the list have solid job growth, an educated labor pool and low business costs. The calculation also includes tax, energy and office space costs, and takes into account Economy.com’s living cost index.

Six of the 10 top metro areas are in and around state capitals.

Here are the magazine’s top choices:

Best Metros

Raleigh, N.C.
Boise, Idaho
Fort Collins, Colo.
Des Moines, Iowa
Lexington, Ky.
Atlanta, Ga.
Richmond, Va.
Olympia, Wash.
Spokane, Wash.
Knoxville, Tenn.

Best Smaller Metros

Sioux Falls, S.D.
Iowa City, Iowa
Bloomington, Ind.
Columbia, Mo.
Bismarck, N.D.
Morgantown, W.Va.
Rapid City, S.D.
Greenville, N.C.
Charlottesville, Va.
Blacksburg, Va

Source: , Kurt Badenhausen