Seattle Strongest Economy in America - POLICOM Study

PALM CITY, Fla., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seattle, WA metropolitan area has the strongest local economy in the nation according to POLICOM Corporation's annual economic strength rankings. Edwards, CO is top among the "Micropolitan" areas, which are smaller urban centers.

"The top rated areas have had rapid, consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period of time," stated William H. Fruth, President of POLICOM. POLICOM, located in Palm City, FL, specializes in analyzing local and state economies.

"The rankings do not reflect the latest 'hotspot' or boom town, but the areas which have the best economic foundation," Fruth continued. "While most communities have slowed or declined during this recession, the strongest areas have been able to weather the storm."

POLICOM annually ranks the 366 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and 576 Micropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States so POLICOM can study the characteristics of strong and weak economies in the country.

"Economic strength is the long-term tendency for an area to consistently grow in both size and quality," stated Fruth.

The study measures 23 different economic factors over a twenty-year period to create the rankings. The formulas determine how an economy has behaved over an extended period of time. Data stretching from 1989 to 2008 was used for this study.

Metropolitan areas must have a city of at least 50,000 people and are typically more than one county. Micropolitan areas are smaller economies and do not have a city with a population greater than 50,000 people. They are typically one county and, according to William Fruth, their economies fluctuate much more than the larger Metropolitan areas.

For the economic strength rankings for all areas, go to http://www.policom.com.

The following are the 10 strongest Metropolitan and Micropolitan areas.

2010 Ten Strongest Among 366 Metropolitan Areas

1. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
3. Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO
4. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
5. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA
6. Salt Lake City, UT
7. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
8. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA
9. Madison, WI
10. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

2010 Ten Strongest Among 576 Micropolitan Areas

1. Edwards, CO
2. Gillette, WY
3. Durango, CO
4. Hilton Head Island-Beaufort, SC
5. Rock Springs, WY
6. Helena, MT
7. Bozeman, MT
8. Concord, NH
9. Kahului-Wailuku, HI
10. Jackson, WY-ID

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SOURCE POLICOM Corporation