The Tampa Bay metro area is second on Milken Institute’s 2013 list of Best Performing Cities in Florida, next only to the Naples-Marco Island metro area. Of the 200 U.S. cities in the list, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area is 93rd. It is a big jump from its 138th ranking in 2012.
What were Milken Institute’s criteria?
. 5-year job growth, from 2007 to 2012
. 1-year job growth, from 2011 to 2012
. 5-year wage and salary growth, from 2006 to 2011
. 1-year wage and salary growth, from 2010 to 2011
. over-the year growth, from May 2012 to May 2013
. 5-year growth in high-technology GDP, from 2007 to 2012
. 1-year growth in high-technology GDP, from 2011 to 2012
. High-technology GDP performance in 2012
. Number of high-tech GDP LQs over 1 in 2012
Over the year from 2012 to 2013, the Tampa Bay metro area improved on six major factors, with the biggest improvement in the 5-year high-tech GDP factor. Creation of Tampa jobs is a major objective of city, county and regional planners in the area. It also ranked high in four criteria:
. 13th in over-the-year job growth from May 2012 to May 2013
. 36th in no. of high-tech GDP LQs over 1 in 2012
. 50th in 1-year job growth from 2011 to 2012
. 66th in high-tech GDP LQ in 2012
Of the 19 metro areas in Florida, 17 metro areas made it to the Top 200 Large cities in the U.S.
Florida Metro Areas in Milken’s Top 200 List
| Florida | National | Metro Area |
| Rank | Rank | |
| 1 | 83 | Naples-Marco Island |
| 2 | 93 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater |
| 3 | 98 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford |
| 4 | 124 | Gainesville |
| 5 | 129 | Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach |
| 6 | 133 | Jacksonville |
| 7 | 144 | Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall |
| 8 | 149 | Port St. Lucie |
| 9 | 161 | Ocala |
| 10 | 162 | Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice |
| 11 | 163 | West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach |
| 12 | 164 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers |
| 13 | 177 | Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville |
| 14 | 178 | Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach |
| 15 | 191 | Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent |
| 16 | 194 | Tallahassee |
| 17 | 199 | Lakeland-Winter Haven |
Over the 12 months of 2013, these were among the companies which had launched or expanded their business operations in the Tampa Bay area:
. James Hardie
Manufacturer of fiber cement products with operations in several countries
. Covidien
Global manufacturer of healthcare products
. United Services Automobile Association (USAA)
Provider of insurance, retirement, investment and banking products and services for military personnel and their families
. Dart Container Corp.
Global leader in the manufacture of foam cups
. Synergy Health
Global leader in the provision of specialist healthcare services
. HealthPlan Services (HPS)
Leader in providing administrative services for the insurance and managed care markets
. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
Global leader in the biopharmaceutical industry. Leader in developing innovative medicines for the treatment of serious diseases
. Granex Inc.
Leading converter of imported raw materials to granite and marble slabs
. Port of Tampa
Direct and indirect creator of more than 80,000 jobs, with port-related wages and salaries worth $4.2 billion
. Cardinal Solutions Group
Leading provider of information technology solutions
. Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC)
Clearing of the bulk of U.S. securities trades. Processed securities trades worth $1.6 quadrillion in 2012
. Xcelience LLC
Leader in contract development and manufacturing
. Morgan Stanley
Global leader in providing investment banking, investment management, wealth management and banking services in 43 countries
. Amazon.com Inc.
The world’s largest online retailer. Ranked 49th on the Fortune 500 list for the year 2013
. Tampa International Airport
Was the Third Best Airport in North America in 2013 based on Airport Service Quality, according to the Airports Council International