I am proud to announce that for the 3rd consecutive year, Provo City has demonstrated the best performance among large cities, according to the 2023 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index! Provo is the #1 Best Performing City in the Nation, again!
Our ranking was fostered by our strong five-year job and wage growth, along with a robust high-tech sector. Provo is home to several well-established high-tech companies and numerous tech startups, in addition to Brigham Young University, which offers stable employment to 4,000 Utahns.
No place on earth is as dear to me as Provo. It’s where I was born, where I grew up, and where my husband and I chose to raise our kids. I am proud to see that the world is taking note of this remarkable place, where the majesty of nature surrounds a thriving hub of tech activity and educational opportunity, creating unparalleled quality of life.
For the Milken Institute to recognize us for three straight years as the nation’s Best Performing City is a thrill and an honor. The award is data driven, based on metrics like job and wage growth. But behind our impressive metrics are the amazing people that make it all happen. It is they who should be most proud of this award.
This morning, I had the pleasure of announcing this incredible achievement to our city directors. I am so proud of the hard work and dedication that has gone into making Provo a top-performing city. Let's continue to strive for excellence and make Provo an even better place to live, work, and play.
More About the Ranking:
This year’s top-performing cities had several common themes: a vigorous and growing high-tech sector, rebounding leisure and hospitality sectors, and above average broadband access. Simultaneously, housing affordability was a concern among most top-performing cities. While remarking on the strong performance of top-ranked cities, this year’s BPC report also noted that cities should aim to increase their supply of affordable housing to remain attractive to young generations of workers.
Having become an established hub for technology startups, Provo-Orem maintained its top ranking with the highest levels of employment growth and wage growth over the last five years. From 2016 to 2021, Provo experienced rapid labor market expansion driven partly by the expansion of its high-tech sector. This allowed the city to rank first in five-year growth for both jobs and wages in this year’s rankings.
The Index ranks cities into five tiers, allowing stakeholders such as policymakers, business leaders, and residents to compare their economic performance more easily to their peers. Notably, most of the top-performing Tier 1 cities (16 in total: eight large, eight small) are in just six states (Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Florida, and North Carolina), with the remainder (eight: two large, six small) of Tier 1 cities spread across several states in the West, Midwest, and Southeast regions of the country.
Talk about the kiss of death. Every immigrant crossing the border will see that and invade (even more than we have now) Provo demanding we subsidize them, pay for their food, housing and medical care. Don't believe me ? Just look at what many cities are experiencing.