Eastern City Dwellers Have More Fun, Says New Portfolio.com Analysis

NEW YORK, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Portfolio.com, the national business news site that provides services for small and mid-sized business executives, today named the most fun cities in America as part of its provocative new U.S. Uncovered series. Metros were ranked for shopping, food and drink, culture, popular entertainment, gambling, and the combination of high- and low-impact sports. Markets performing well on a broad swath of the categories ranked highest.  

"Finding the right city for a small- and mid-sized business is one of the most crucial factors in potential growth and ability to recruit top talent," said J. Jennings Moss, editor of Portfolio.com. "With major metropolitan areas like New York, Boston, Miami and Philadelphia, the East Coast offers a mix of both tourists and residents drawn to these cities for the diverse selection of shopping, food and drink, and cultural experiences."

Coming in at #1 overall, New York City also ranked first in recreation and entertainment categories. But in a vote for the Midwest, second place overall went to Chicago. Rounding out the top 10 are Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland (Maine), Philadelphia and Minneapolis.  

The big surprise: Portland, Maine – the only metro in the top 10 with a population less than three million.  The survey found that Maine's largest city is a haven for shoppers with the strongest concentration of stores in the U.S.  Additionally, with quick access to the Atlantic Ocean and 7.4 marinas per 100,000 residents, it's an ideal location for boaters and fisherman.  

"Our previous studies have shown that Portland has a vibrant small-business sector, and that carries over to small businesses devoted to fun. Portland has a higher concentration of stores and marinas than any other market, and it ranks surprisingly well in several other categories, ranging from fitness centers and golf courses to amusement parks and movie theaters," said G. Scott Thomas, a nationally-recognized demographer who creates the analyses for Portfolio.com.

The Big Apple stops short of a sweep

But New York City's top rank – also fueled by wins in shopping, food and drink, and culture – was far from a sweep. Miami took the top spot for popular entertainment and Boston took the sports categories. Not surprisingly, Las Vegas topped in gambling options.

And in another twist, some of the country's most renowned tourist destinations scored outside the top 10: New Orleans (13th), Las Vegas (26th), Washington (27th), and Orlando (42nd).  

"There are certain places, like New Orleans and Las Vegas that you'd expect to see at the top of this list, but aren't. They both do reasonably well in the rankings, but they aren't multi-dimensional like the leaders are. They have weaknesses. New Orleans gets low marks for personal participation in sports, while Las Vegas is No. 1 for gambling, but doesn't do particularly well in any other category," added Thomas.

The U.S. Uncovered series – new this year to Portfolio.com – provides original, insightful analysis of the American lifestyle and business trends of interest to the highly lucrative market of small- and mid-sized business executives, who will fuel the country's economic recovery over the next five years.  Earlier U.S. Uncovered rankings this year looked at the "Top U.S. Wealth Centers," naming Newport Beach as #1; "Small Business Vitality," naming Texas the best state and Austin the top city for small business; and "Best Places for Young Adults," naming the Southwestern region the new frontier for young Americans with Austin as #1.

About Portfolio.com

Portfolio.com is a national business news site that provides services for small and mid-sized business executives. Comprising original, in-depth reporting, thought-provoking insights, colorful features, exclusive analysis of custom research, and an intelligent business-news filtering tool, Portfolio.com is the first national business media outlet dedicated solely to delivering actionable news and information to this coveted $13.7 trillion audience. Portfolio.com relaunched in December 2009 as the information destination for business executives, insiders and strategists within the growing and profitable American City Business Journals.

About American City Business Journals

American City Business Journals engages 13.5 million decision makers each month through the company's 40 newsweeklies, 42 Web sites, digital newsletters and more than 400 local events across the country. It is the largest publisher of business-to-business information in the United States. More than 4 million readers each week engage with exclusive, in-depth coverage of local business communities; some 9 million unique monthly users engage with the company's digital content; more than 11 million e-newsletters are delivered each month via email; and the company sees more than 1 million mobile page views each month. American City is a unit of Advance Publications Inc., which also operates Conde Nast Magazines, Parade magazine, Fairchild Publications, the Golf Digest companies, Newhouse Newspapers and cable television interests.

SOURCE Portfolio.com