Forbes ranks Billings high

Billings is among the best places in the United States for business and careers, according to a report by Forbes magazine and Milken Institute.

By JACI WEBB
of the Gazette Staff

Community leaders say they knew already that the Billings economy is strong, but the No. 12 ranking in the Forbes/Milken Institute Best Small Places helps promote the city in new ways. The ranking was published on Forbes’ Web site in May as part of the magazine’s annual survey. San Diego topped the list for major metropolitan areas. Las Cruces, N.M., was No. 1 for smaller metropolitan areas, the category that included Billings; Iowa City, Iowa, was No. 2, and Tyler, Texas, was third.

"This validates what most of us know – this is an attractive place to live and do business," said Butch Ott, executive director of the Billings Chamber of Commerce.

The study ranks 200 major metropolitan areas and 96 metro areas with populations under 177,000. The ranking is based on growth in jobs and earned income and includes a measure of activity in critical technologies that foster future growth. Billings ranked 37th on the list in 2001.

Billings Mayor Chuck Tooley pointed out that much of the economic growth in Yellowstone County is in retail and health care. These two industries drive others, including construction.

"A lot of people mistake what is happening in Montana for what is happening in Billings," Tooley said. "We are a regional center and we have a different character than Eastern Montana."

Tooley said construction of the new Mansfield Education Center and the Deaconess Research Center are examples of Billings’ growth. Annual retail sales are in the neighborhood of $2 billion and construction of residential and commercial buildings through this November topped $161.8 million, he said.

"It’s another record-breaking year for construction," Tooley said.

Ott said businesses and individuals looking to move pay attention to rankings by Forbes Magazine and the Milken Institute.

"When you look at the credibility of the report, it gets attention," Ott said. "People may say, ‘Gosh, Billings is a place we need to investigate.’ "

Milken researchers looked for changes in the technology sector and tracked employment in the first quarter of the year to gauge how metro areas handled the effects of Sept. 11 and the slowing economy of 2001.

The study is a plus for the community, said Gary Amundson, director for the Center for Business Enterprise at Montana State University-Billings.

"I think it’s a great compliment when somebody like Forbes has us listed as a good place to live," Amundson said. "Part of what it is in moving here is perception. If the perception is that Billings is a very dynamic place, then they’ll come. You can be a dynamic place, but not have the perception."

If you live in Billings, you don’t need Forbes magazine to tell you that the city is growing, Amundson said.

"You look at the new houses that are getting built – those $400,000 and $500,000 houses – and then you look at the new box stores, Billings is a pretty with-it place," Amundson said. "I see the stuff the Realtors put out about how the price of homes has gone up. Then you see all the new businesses going up. Things have got to be good."

Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2002/12/04/build/local/92-forbes.inc