Midland ranks among top smaller US cities for performance

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Lori Blong Mayor | City of Midland

The Midland metropolitan statistical area has been recognized as one of the "Best-Performing Cities" in the United States, according to a report by the Milken Institute. Among smaller MSAs, Midland ranked fifth nationally, following Gainesville, Georgia; St. George, Utah; Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Bend-Redmond, Oregon.

The Milken Institute explained that “the BPC index utilizes 13 key metrics, combining labor market conditions, high-tech industry growth, and access to economic opportunities.” This methodology is designed to identify trends and shifts within the U.S. economy and provide a detailed benchmark for metro performance.

For Midland MSA specifically, the report highlighted several areas of significant growth:

- Job growth increased by 10.1% from 2018 to 2023 and 6.6% from 2022 to 2023.

- Short-term job growth rose by 1.7%.

- Wage growth improved by 37.7% over five years and spiked by 16.1% from 2022 to 2023.

- GDP grew by 44.5% between 2018 and 2023 and increased by an additional 43.8% in the last year.

Midland was one of two Texas cities included in the tier-1 category of best-performing cities; Austin secured sixth place among larger cities.