Lexington is one of the best places in the country for business and careers according to a recent report published by Forbes magazine.
The magazine’s 10th annual listing of the Best Places for Business and Careers ranked Lexington No. 5 in the country, a leap of 25 places from its No. 30 spot in 2007. Louisville ranked No. 91 on the Forbes list, while Bowling Green ranked No. 12 on the magazine’s listing of Best Small Places for Business and Careers.
The rankings cover the 200 largest metro areas in the nation (those with populations over 240,000) and are based on the following factors: five-year historical job and income growth, migrations trends, business cost index (labor, tax, energy and office space costs), living costs (housing, transportation, food and miscellaneous household expenditures), crime and educational attainment. The study also factored in the presence of four-year colleges as well as cultural and recreational opportunities.
Lexington also ranked highly in a study conducted by audit and tax firm KPMG LLP that measured the cost of doing business in cities across the country. KPMG’s 2008 Competitive Alternatives study placed Lexington third in the country for small-sized cities (populations between 100,000 and 500,000). The study measured 27 significant cost components that are most likely to vary by location, including labor, taxes, real estate and utilities as they applied to 17 industries, over a 10-year planning horizon. Data on a variety of non-cost competitive factors also was compared. The study enables companies to perform a “quick scan” of jurisdictions to determine which can offer a cost-competitive business environment.
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