Bay Area Cities Dominate Best-Performing Ranking
Bay Area (and megaregion) cities again dominated an annual ranking of the nation’s best-performing cities. The ranking by the esteemed Milken Institute placed four Bay Area cities in the top 25, more than any other state or region in the country. Cities are judged by a variety of criteria, including jobs, wages and salaries, and technology output. The Silicon Valley area encompassed by San Jose, Sunnyvale, Cupertino and Santa Clara ranked second, up from 11 the year before, while San Francisco and the Peninsula reached #4, Oakland hit #14 and Santa Rosa climbed to #18 from #43 the year before.
Propelled by the continuing expansion of the UC Merced campus, Merced made the biggest year-over-year leap on the ranking, jumping 56 spots from 94 to 38. The rise is a testament to UC Merced’s influence in the growing megaregion. Fresno also made a strong leap from #66 to #33, and Stockton soared from #68 to #34. Among small cities, San Rafael took the #6 spot.
