Springdale Chamber of Commerce

MILKEN RANKS SPRINGDALE METRO 7TH AGAIN

Northwest Arkansas has been ranked as the seventh Best Performing City by the prestigious Milken Institute for the second consecutive year. The ranking was released Tuesday. The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA has been ranked in the Top 10 of the annual report for four straight years.

The rankings are for the Tier 1 list of the largest metros in the nation. Raleigh, NC is the top-ranked metro in 2025 after placing second a year ago. Ogden, Utah, Salt Lake City, Huntsville, AL, Colorado Springs, CO, and Austin come in ahead of Springdale’s metro.

Individual rankings for our metropolitan area include sixth for job growth (2018-23), 11th for high-tech GDP growth (2022-2023), 16th for wage growth (2018-2023) and 17th for both short-term job growth and households with affordable housing costs.

In its report, the Milken Institute noted Northwest Arkansas, “has seen above-average employment growth across nearly all major economic sectors. The construction industry has been a major driver of the metro’s labor market performance.”

The region’s population continues to grow and is on pace to pass 1 million residents by 2045 (demographers expect Springdale to be the region’s largest city with 154,352 in 2045) which would result in almost doubling our size in just over 20 years.

“You are always encouraged when the nation recognizes what Northwest Arkansans know…that this is the best place in America to live, work and play,” says Chamber president Bill Rogers. “We work every day to help businesses create quality, good-paying jobs and this national recognition makes our efforts easier.”

Tier 1 Large Cities 2025 Rank:
1. Raleigh, NC
2. Odgen, UT
3. Salt Lake City, UT
4. Huntsville, AL
5. Colorado Springs, CO
6. Austin, TX
7. NWA, Arkansas
8. Olympia, WA
9. Palm Bay, FL
10. Boise City, UT