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Top 25 Small Cities for Business and New Jobs

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By Patty Inglish, MS


Growth In Small Town USA Is Dramatic

The Top 25 Small Cities for Jobs and Business are listed in the following lineup of towns across America. They were chosen by a range of financial experts, economists, and workforce analysts and posted in magazines and online publications, such as Inc.com.

A highlight summary follows many of the town listings, particularly the Top 10, and includes many of the the leading fast-growing Business Sectors. Links provided will direct you to full Hub Reviews for metropolitan areas that offer descriptions of business advantages and job openings as well as listings for colleges and universities, sports and recreation, some local history, and explanations about what makes each city different.

Montpelier Vermont

View of the Green Mountains (public domain).

Top 10 Small Cities in the USA

1. Montpelier, Vermont - Ranked the #1 Small City in America for business, this city is healthy a growing Insurance Industry. Also the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is home to several colleges. An interesting fact of trivia is that Montpelier was home to several get-rich-quick schemes posted in the back of crossword puzzle books and other magazines in the 1960s. See the local Institute for Sustainable Communites -  Jobs.

2. Missoula, Montana - Missoula's population doubled in 30 years fomr from 1977 - 2007, with the addition of many new small businesses and resulting job openings. Financial Products and Professional Services are blooming as major industries in this city, and Information Technology is rapidly advancing.

3. Casper, Wyoming - This metro area has appeared on nearly everyone's Best Cities list in the last several years. Major business growth is especially evident in Financial Products and Professional Services, both of which are expanding from the central urban area and adding businesses and jobs as they radiate outward to the suburbs.

4. Rockland County, New York - This statistical area has shown population growth of triple that of NYC since the year 2000. Its business growth includes increasing occupational openings in Management, Healthcare, Information Technology (computers and data), Auto Repair, and Professional/Business Services.

5. Sioux Falls, South Dakota - The population of this city in increasing since the year 2000. New business and jobs include work for skilled worker and in Financial Services and Professional Services. A new focus is noticeable as well in Information Technology and Biological Sciences.

7. Burlington, Vermont - Good Eats star Alton Brown attended the local culinary insitute here. Job listings for Burlington include IT Professionals, registered Nurses, College Professors, Sales Professiolnals and many others.

8. Dutchess County, New York - Several famous Top Chefs graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Dutchess Country, including Anthony Bourdain, Duff Goldman, Cat Cora, and the culinary director of McDonald's®. However, the largest pools of jobs needing to be filled are in Computers and Technology, Financial Services, Auto Repair, and Healthcare, as well as others. See videos of singing in the bakery...

9. Anchorage, Alaska - The avowed Energy State of 2008 is set to host a huge number of jobs upon the opening of the new Natural Gas Pipeline in partnership with Canadian agencies. The city offers a number of attractive features and incentives to businesses and residents as well. Besides Oila nd Natural Gas, Healthcare is a high demand work field, as is the Grocery and General Merchandise Business.

10. Manchester, New Hampshire - This metro area needs many professionals in Insurance, Health, and Education as well as a number of other industry sectors.

The Chugach Mountains at Anchorage, Alaska

(public domain)
(public domain)

Altoona PA Rail Fest

Additional Best Small Cities in the US

11. Bismarck, North Dakota

12. Bryan-College Station, Texas

13. Danbury, Connecticut

14. Altoona, Pennsylvania - This is the home of the Atloona Curve, a hairpin turn on a major railroad line. The railroads played a major role in opening up this town and up through 2016, Healthcare related workers are in the highest demand. Employees are also needed in Education, Information Technology, Electronics, Food & Beverage Service, Trucking, and several other fields.

 

15. Fargo-Moorhead, North Dakota - This metro area is a hotbed of workforce activity in High Technology, Life Sciences, and Physical Sciences, including Sustainability. A unique partnership among three universities located just across the state line of North Dakota and Minnesota from one another makes this possible with shared research centers and business incubation in the community.

16. Las Cruces, New Mexico - "The Place of the Crosses" is central to a metro area thatcovers the entire southern half of New Mexico. The largest employer is the state university, followed by White Sands Missile Range and all of the related facilties and installations. It is all an interesting area related to history, Native American Nations, cuisine, entertainment, and astronautics and aeronautics. Alternative Energy and Sustainability make a large focal point for new business, especially in the creation of "Green Oil." 

17. La Crosse, Wisconsin

Secton of a mural by Olive Rush: Biology Building at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces (public domain)
Secton of a mural by Olive Rush: Biology Building at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces (public domain)

Pow Wow in Albany Georgia

Fort Smith, Arkansas Theme Song

Bristol, Virginia

Enid, Oklahoma

(public domain)
(public domain)

18. Newburgh, New York - In 2004, Newburgh was recognized as one of the Top 5 Most Stressed Cities in the US. However, its exciting progress by 2007 - 2008 led Money Magazine to name it to the list of the 25 Best Small Cities in America. Jobs are being created through a federally designated Empire Zone in Newburgh, making this small city the fastest growing area in the State of New York. Look for Retail, Tourism, Government, Healthcare and other jobs in Newburgh.

19. Albany, Georgia

20. Medford, Oregon

21. Utica-Rome, New York

22. Lake Charles, Louisiana - This city is also on Careerbuilder.com's Top 30 Cities for Jobs overall in the USA. The article link provides additional information for all major metro areas in the state of Louisiana. The fictional site of some daytime TV dramas (in name, at least), Lake Charles is a growing community the offers a rich cultural back drop dotted with museums, historic events, music festivals, and the arts.

23. Bristol, Virginia - Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennesee are across the street from each other and share a gateway. Visit the link to learn about opportunities in both cities.

24. Fort Smith, Arkansas

25. Enid, Oklahoma - This town needs Teachers from pre-school through elementary school in regular and special education classrooms. This needs speaks to the expanding population very well. Nursing Teachers are also needed at the college and vicationa level as well as Nurses themselves (incudes the highly lucrative Travel Nursing profession). Computer Professionals, Healthcare Practitioners and Auditors are needed as well. In fact, Forensic Accounting/Auditing is becoming a big business nationwide.


Small Town America

  • 6 small Kan. towns to share $500K in state grantsHutchinson News14 hours ago

    TOPEKA - Six small Kansas towns are sharing $500,000 in state grants that will help them with parks ...

  • Wet-dry votes planned in small townsThe Tuscaloosa News2 days ago

    By Dana Beyerle Montgomery Bureau Chief MONTGOMERY | Wet-dry votes are being sought this year in small towns in dry counties, including Aliceville and Fayette, under a new law that allows towns with as few as 1,000 people to set alcoholic beverage referendums.

  • Small towns brace for Becker trialThe Globe Gazette2 days ago

    SHELL ROCK (AP) — The murder trial of a former football player accused of killing his high school coach is expected to test the resources of two small Iowa towns.

  • Small towns hit hardest by Christmas fall-outprestontoday.net19 hours ago

    A retail expert has said small town centres risk being hit by the fall-out from Christmas. (09/02/2010 07:32:55)

Employment in The Untited States

  • CeramTec North America Announces New 3C Product LineThomasNet14 hours ago

    Laurens, SC - 14:00 (EST) -CeramTec North America Corporation (CTNA), a major supplier of Advanced Technical Ceramics and leader in Hermetic products, announced the startup of production of its new 3C product line. CeramTec initiated a strategic contract with a US based Company to supply technical ceramics for manufacturing petrochemical derivatives. Dr. Ulf-D Zimmermann, Chairman of CeramTec AG ...

  • Sierra Club Praises Obama Administration Steps to Encourage Outdoor Activity, Better Nutrition for America's YouthSierra Club8 hours ago

    Washington, DC -- Two important Obama Administration initiatives announced this week will help encourage outdoor activity and better nutrition for America's youth.

  • Senate jobs bill: What's missingCNN Money4 hours ago

    Senate Democrats' draft plan for job creation, circulated Tuesday, contains a couple of employment measures and a lot of leftover business.

  • Do Recent Unemployment Numbers Accurately Represent Minorities?NPR3 hours ago

    The National unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly in January from 10 percent to 9.7 percent, the lowest numbers since August. But some experts say the dip could be misleading because the figures only account for those actively looking for jobs, not for those who have halted their employment search. Host Michel Martin talks with Angelo Falcon, president of the National Institute of Latino ...

  • You could be America's next oldest workerKTVO Kirksville8 hours ago

    The contest is a national campaign to value older people in the workplace.

Comments

RSS for comments on this Hub

Bruce Elkin profile image

Bruce Elkin  says:
13 months ago

Nice hub, but who wants to go and live in the belly of the monster? I'll stay up here in Canada. But it's not very nice here, and there are no jobs, so don't come, unless to visit.:-)

Netters profile image

Netters  says:
13 months ago

Great hub! I used to live in number 16-Las Cruces, NM until 2 years ago. It is really booming there. A great place to live. Now I live 60 miles North, in Alamogordo, NM. Thanks!

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS  says:
13 months ago

Thanks for the comments! Bruce - I need to look into the employment situation in Canada and learn about it. Netters! - I think New Mexico is a beautiful state.

Hopefully, and sustainabililty or green business will grow quickly and afford jobs to those that have been laid off in 2008.

Thanks again!

Las Cruces  says:
13 months ago

Thanks so much for this post. Las Cruces is a great city to live in. To find out more information you can also visit our website at www.lascrucescvb.org.

We are also on facebook and twitter. You can get the latest updates on Las Cruces events! We hope to see everyone in Las Cruces!!

Patty Inglish, MS profile image

Patty Inglish, MS  says:
13 months ago

Thank very much for the link, Las Cruces! It certainly is a great place and I will checkout Facebook.

samuilgr8 profile image

samuilgr8  says:
12 months ago

Superb hub.....!! Very useful informaion

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