Denver, Fort Collins among Forbes’ 5 best places for business

another good Denver Business Journal article....

Denver, Fort Collins among Forbes’ 5 best places for business

Denver Business Journal by Mark Harden, New Media Editor

Date: Wednesday, June 27, 2012, 12:37pm MDT

Colorado has placed two cities in the top five of Forbes’ latest ranking of America’s “best places for business and careers,” published Wednesday.
The 14th annual list places Fort Collins at No. 3 and Denver at No. 5.
Both rankings are improvements over last year, when Fort Collins places No. 5 and Denver No. 9. Fort Collins was rated No. 4 in 2010 and No. 2 in 2009; Denver was No. 6 in 2010 and No. 14 in 2009.
Forbes evaluated the nation’s 200 largest metro areas on job trends, business costs, income growth, quality of life and the educational level of the labor force, among other factors.
“Many high-tech companies including Hewlett-Packard, Intel, AMD, Amago, among others, have relocated to Fort Collins to take advantage of the resources of [Colorado State University] and its research facilities,” Forbes says of Fort Collins. “Up and coming industries within the area include clean energy, bioscience, and agri-tech businesses.”
Of Denver, Forbes says the Mile High City’s “relatively central location makes it a natural location as a distribution hub for the American west, while also supporting a number of growing industries in technology and telecommunications. Its location just east of the mineral-rich Rocky Mountain range encouraged mining and energy companies to spring up in the area, making the energy industry another staple of Denver’s economy.”
Forbes also notes that Denver offers museums and performing arts centers, bustling neighborhoods and nightlife, and nearby mountains.
Other Colorado cities in this year’s ranking of 200 cities: Boulder, at No. 27 (up from No. 44 last year); Colorado Springs, at No. 42 (down from No. 30); and Greeley, at No. 46 (down from No. 42).
Provo, Utah, tops Forbes’ best-places list this year, followed by Raleigh, N.C.; Fort Collins; Des Moines, Iowa; Denver; Ogden, Utah; Lincoln, Neb.; Dallas; Austin, Texas; and Nashville, Tenn.