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A top economic development publication has placed Springfield high
on its list of the best metros for business expansion.
Expansion Management magazine ranks Springfield No. 6 of 331 U.S.
metros for business expansion, citing its “excellent public schools,
low health care costs and a high quality of life.”
And among mid-sized metros, those with populations between 250,000
and one million, Springfield ranks even higher, coming in at number
two, behind Des Moines and ahead of Fort Worth, Tallahassee and
Dayton.
The magazine’s 2004 Mayor’s Challenge ranked metros that
consistently scored well in its annual research studies. These
studies focused on the categories that corporate site selectors
consider when choosing locations for new or expanding businesses.
The article quotes Greg Williams, Chamber senior vice president for
economic development. “We’re known as Missouri’s ‘economic engine’
and for good reason,” Williams said. “Over the past year, 25 percent
of all new jobs in Missouri were created in Springfield, even though
Springfield represents only three percent of the state’s work
force.” Springfield has become the center of a regional market of
nearly one million people because of its health care systems, strong
retail base and its expanding airport, he added. |
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2004 MAYOR'S
CHALLENGE |
| 1 |
Des Moines,
IA |
| 2 |
Kansas City, MO-KS |
| 3 |
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA |
| 4 |
Austin-San Marcos, TX |
| 5 |
Iowa City, IA |
| 6 |
Springfield, MO |
| 7 |
Sioux Falls, SD |
| 8 |
Washington DC, MD-VA-WV |
| 9 |
Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN |
| 10 |
Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA |
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