America's Best Performing Cities in 2014

The U.S. economy continues to recover from its Great Recession: The Economist reported this month that 2014’s third quarter saw 5 percent GDP growth, the fastest pace since 2003. But the recovery has been uneven, with the affluent benefitting disproportionately while working people and the middle class have fallen further behind.

The recovery has also been uneven across cities and metro areas, the real underlying engines of American economic growth. The latest evidence of this phenomenon can be found in the 2014 edition of the Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities, released today. An outcomes-based ranking, the study rates some 200 large and 179 small metros on several key measures: job growth, wage and salary growth and the size and concentration of high tech industry. The study shows how the recovery has been concentrated in—and, indeed, has revolved around—what I have dubbed the twin pillars of America’s knowledge/energy economy, with the best performers being energy centers and tech hubs.