Forbes magazine ran their annual top 200 metro regions to do business in and Tucson didn’t do so well. The big numbers that jump out to me are the job creation and crime ratings. Interesting how these two numbers, arguably our regions two biggest pressing problems are skewing down the entire rating.
We know the job creation number is directly related to the fact that Tucson relies too heavily on the growth and construction industry. During boom and bust cycles our collective fortunes rise and fall. We’ve talked about diversifying our economic base for ages and yet nothing really ends up happening. GTEC, predecessor to TREO, focused on call centers which may not be too far off base given our available labor pool.
The stat that leaped off the page for me was the crime statistics. No matter how you slice it if the people aren’t safe they don’t buy houses, shop in business and come to our community. We are in the process of hiring a new police chief so I hope our elected officials don’t mess it up. Public Safety funding is another important aspect of a safe community. We are well under national levels for police per population and it’s starting to strain the community. Our government must start focusing on the basics before we tackle all the council pet projects.
Best Places For Business And Careers
#133 Tucson AZ
03.25.09, 6:00 PM ET
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| Rank | |
| Colleges 1 | 113 |
| Cost of Doing Business 2 | 105 |
| Cost of Living 3 | 128 |
| Crime Rate 4 | 190 |
| Culture and Leisure 5 | 102 |
| Educational Attainment 6 | 72 |
| Income Growth* | 145 |
| Job Growth* | 72 |
| Job Growth Projected 7 | 195 |
| Net Migration* | 23 |
| Subprime Mortgages 8 | 84 |
| Education | |
| College Attainment 6 | 26.8% |
| High School Attainment | 83.7% |
| Income | |
| Median Household Income | $44,656 |
| Income Growth* | 2.2% |
| Employment | |
| Job Growth* | 1.6% |
| Job Growth Projected 7 | -1.4% |
| Unemployment (2008) | 4.9% |
| Housing | |
| Subprime Mortgages 8 | 17.1% |
| Median Home Price | $204,400 |
Metro Area Population: 988,000
Billionaires: None
Best Big Companies: None
Best Small Companies: Providence Service
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