Space Coast vaults to second on Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities Index

Space Coast, Fla. (February 19, 2021) – The Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) continues to rocket up the rankings of the Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities, rising to second in the prestigious index for 2021, which tracks where America’s jobs are created and sustained.

From 2018 to 2020, the Space Coast jumped an astounding 47 spots to make the top 10. This year’s report attributes the Space Coast’s continued ascent to strong wage and job growth, which are third and eighth in the nation, respectively.

According to Milken, “the Space Coast improved on last year’s breakout performance, transforming one-year gains into long-term jobs and wage growth. This continued success is largely due to a diversified, high-tech industrial base, including a significant part of the national aerospace and defense industries.”

The report underscored, “The top-performing metros have cohesive strategies allowing them to weather economic storms and leverage their assets more effectively. The experience of these metros also provides a benchmark for leaders in other regions seeking to promote sustainable growth and prosperity.”

“A resilient, sustainable, world-class economy is what we’ve been building for the last decade on the Space Coast and although we did not expect it to be tested by the headwinds of a global pandemic, we are gratified to see the momentum continue,” said Lynda L. Weatherman, President & CEO of the Economic Development of Florida’s Space Coast. “Florida’s Space Coast is on the national radar as a diversified, high-tech center that can lay substantial claim to the growing aerospace and defense sectors.”

The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities index tracks the economic performance of approximately 400 U.S. MSA’s using an outcomes-based set of metrics which include job creation, wage gains, and high-tech GDP growth to evaluate the performance of these cities. To read the full report and to learn more, visit Best-Cities.org.

–From the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.

Space Coast vaults to second on Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities Index

Space Coast, Fla. (February 19, 2021) – The Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) continues to rocket up the rankings of the Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities, rising to second in the prestigious index for 2021, which tracks where America’s jobs are created and sustained.

From 2018 to 2020, the Space Coast jumped an astounding 47 spots to make the top 10. This year’s report attributes the Space Coast’s continued ascent to strong wage and job growth, which are third and eighth in the nation, respectively.

According to Milken, “the Space Coast improved on last year’s breakout performance, transforming one-year gains into long-term jobs and wage growth. This continued success is largely due to a diversified, high-tech industrial base, including a significant part of the national aerospace and defense industries.”

The report underscored, “The top-performing metros have cohesive strategies allowing them to weather economic storms and leverage their assets more effectively. The experience of these metros also provides a benchmark for leaders in other regions seeking to promote sustainable growth and prosperity.”

“A resilient, sustainable, world-class economy is what we’ve been building for the last decade on the Space Coast and although we did not expect it to be tested by the headwinds of a global pandemic, we are gratified to see the momentum continue,” said Lynda L. Weatherman, President & CEO of the Economic Development of Florida’s Space Coast. “Florida’s Space Coast is on the national radar as a diversified, high-tech center that can lay substantial claim to the growing aerospace and defense sectors.”

The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities index tracks the economic performance of approximately 400 U.S. MSA’s using an outcomes-based set of metrics which include job creation, wage gains, and high-tech GDP growth to evaluate the performance of these cities. To read the full report and to learn more, visit Best-Cities.org.

–From the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.