Last month the BLS put out the first official release of annual job data for metropolitan areas, so I wanted to take a brief look at this for large metro areas (more than one million in population, based on old metro area definitions that the BLS still uses). Here are the top 10 cities for percentage job growth. Nashville takes the crown. I’m also personally glad to see Indy bounce back after a couple tough years.
| Rank (Best) | Metropolitan Area | 2011 | 2012 | Pct Change |
| 1 | Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | 756.7 | 786.2 | 3.90% |
| 2 | Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX | 2592.1 | 2691.4 | 3.83% |
| 3 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 795.0 | 823.2 | 3.55% |
| 4 | Salt Lake City, UT | 620.0 | 641.0 | 3.39% |
| 5 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 876.4 | 905.2 | 3.29% |
| 6 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 1917.2 | 1977.8 | 3.16% |
| 7 | Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC | 825.1 | 850.3 | 3.05% |
| 8 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | 506.9 | 521.9 | 2.96% |
| 9 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 2932.2 | 3016.0 | 2.86% |
| 10 | Indianapolis-Carmel, IN | 888.6 | 913.8 | 2.84% |
Here are the bottom ten performers. The federal slowdown already appears to be hitting DC:
| Rank (Worst) | Geography | 2011 | 2012 | Pct Change |
| 1 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 1298.7 | 1298.8 | 0.01% |
| 2 | Rochester, NY | 510.1 | 513.2 | 0.61% |
| 3 | Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA – Metro | 544.8 | 548.3 | 0.64% |
| 4 | Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY | 543.5 | 547.0 | 0.64% |
| 5 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 2707.4 | 2725.2 | 0.66% |
| 6 | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 815.5 | 821.4 | 0.72% |
| 7 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | 737.7 | 743.8 | 0.83% |
| 8 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT – Metro | 538.2 | 542.7 | 0.84% |
| 9 | New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA | 525.1 | 529.7 | 0.88% |
| 10 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 3007.6 | 3039.8 | 1.07% |
And here is the complete list:
| Row | Metropolitan Areas | 2011 | 2012 | Total Change | Pct Change |
| 1 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA | 2306.0 | 2349.9 | 43.9 | 1.90% |
| 2 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 795.0 | 823.2 | 28.2 | 3.55% |
| 3 | Baltimore-Towson, MD | 1292.6 | 1317.8 | 25.2 | 1.95% |
| 4 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | 493.6 | 501.4 | 7.8 | 1.58% |
| 5 | Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH – Metro | 2459.5 | 2499.2 | 39.7 | 1.61% |
| 6 | Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY | 543.5 | 547.0 | 3.5 | 0.64% |
| 7 | Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC | 825.1 | 850.3 | 25.2 | 3.05% |
| 8 | Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI | 4305.1 | 4369.2 | 64.1 | 1.49% |
| 9 | Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN | 990.1 | 1002.4 | 12.3 | 1.24% |
| 10 | Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH | 1001.2 | 1016.6 | 15.4 | 1.54% |
| 11 | Columbus, OH | 926.0 | 950.4 | 24.4 | 2.63% |
| 12 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 2932.2 | 3016.0 | 83.8 | 2.86% |
| 13 | Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO | 1213.6 | 1246.1 | 32.5 | 2.68% |
| 14 | Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI | 1785.7 | 1826.8 | 41.1 | 2.30% |
| 15 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT – Metro | 538.2 | 542.7 | 4.5 | 0.84% |
| 16 | Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX | 2592.1 | 2691.4 | 99.3 | 3.83% |
| 17 | Indianapolis-Carmel, IN | 888.6 | 913.8 | 25.2 | 2.84% |
| 18 | Jacksonville, FL | 586.8 | 595.6 | 8.8 | 1.50% |
| 19 | Kansas City, MO-KS | 980.6 | 996.8 | 16.2 | 1.65% |
| 20 | Las Vegas-Paradise, NV | 808.2 | 823.6 | 15.4 | 1.91% |
| 21 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA | 5165.8 | 5264.6 | 98.8 | 1.91% |
| 22 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 598.0 | 610.9 | 12.9 | 2.16% |
| 23 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 593.8 | 600.9 | 7.1 | 1.20% |
| 24 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 2228.6 | 2278.2 | 49.6 | 2.23% |
| 25 | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | 815.5 | 821.4 | 5.9 | 0.72% |
| 26 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 1735.0 | 1766.4 | 31.4 | 1.81% |
| 27 | Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | 756.7 | 786.2 | 29.5 | 3.90% |
| 28 | New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA | 525.1 | 529.7 | 4.6 | 0.88% |
| 29 | New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA | 8418.2 | 8554.3 | 136.1 | 1.62% |
| 30 | Oklahoma City, OK | 580.1 | 593.4 | 13.3 | 2.29% |
| 31 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 1014.9 | 1040.3 | 25.4 | 2.50% |
| 32 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 2707.4 | 2725.2 | 17.8 | 0.66% |
| 33 | Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ | 1715.6 | 1757.1 | 41.5 | 2.42% |
| 34 | Pittsburgh, PA | 1144.9 | 1158.6 | 13.7 | 1.20% |
| 35 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 987.8 | 1006.6 | 18.8 | 1.90% |
| 36 | Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA – Metro | 544.8 | 548.3 | 3.5 | 0.64% |
| 37 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | 506.9 | 521.9 | 15.0 | 2.96% |
| 38 | Richmond, VA | 610.9 | 623.4 | 12.5 | 2.05% |
| 39 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 1128.8 | 1151.6 | 22.8 | 2.02% |
| 40 | Rochester, NY | 510.1 | 513.2 | 3.1 | 0.61% |
| 41 | Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville, CA | 808.6 | 822.5 | 13.9 | 1.72% |
| 42 | Salt Lake City, UT | 620.0 | 641.0 | 21.0 | 3.39% |
| 43 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 858.4 | 877.9 | 19.5 | 2.27% |
| 44 | San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA | 1233.4 | 1258.8 | 25.4 | 2.06% |
| 45 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 1917.2 | 1977.8 | 60.6 | 3.16% |
| 46 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 876.4 | 905.2 | 28.8 | 3.29% |
| 47 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 1671.3 | 1711.5 | 40.2 | 2.41% |
| 48 | St. Louis, MO-IL | 1298.7 | 1298.8 | 0.1 | 0.01% |
| 49 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 1129.7 | 1155.7 | 26.0 | 2.30% |
| 50 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | 737.7 | 743.8 | 6.1 | 0.83% |
| 51 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 3007.6 | 3039.8 | 32.2 | 1.07% |
Aaron M. Renn is an independent writer on urban affairs and the founder of Telestrian, a data analysis and mapping tool. He writes at The Urbanophile, where this piece originally appeared.
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