The Rockford area moved up substantially in a nationwide ranking of the cities released Wednesday.
The 2016 Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index rated the Rockford area 125th among 200 large metropolitan areas. Last year the city was rated 176th. The index cited growth in short-term jobs, as well as in high-tech jobs, like those at aircraft component maker Woodward, Inc. The institute also looks at capital investment and other factors.
Mike Nicholas is President of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council. He says the ranking by the nonpartisan nonprofit think tank is considered very prestigious. He says it reflects the economic gains the area is making, and ties in with other positive reports.
“I think it means that Rockford is returning to its position as a center of innovation and manufacturing excellence. There’s a number of indicators that the Rockford area is growing and doing well and prospering,” he says.
Nicholas says the ranking is in particular a sign of the growth in good area jobs, including in healthcare and high-tech, growth that has a ripple effect on the economy in general.
“Creating primary jobs, jobs that bring money into the region, help give people more disposable income, and that drives commercial and retail development as well,” he says.
This year’s index was based mainly on data from 2015. Nicholas says, with the opening of a new aircraft maintenance facility, Fiat Chrysler promising to add hundreds of jobs, and other projects such as the new facility by health care system Mercyhealth, underway, he expects the positive trend to continue, now and into the future.
