Forbes: Des Moines Fourth “Hottest” City for Business

Forbes has once again proven why it is one of the smartest, most respected business publications around.  The iconic magazine has ranked Greater Des Moines fourth on its annual “10 Hottest Cities for Business” list.  That’s the same ranking the central Iowa region received last year, while many other cities in last year’s top 10 have fallen out. 

In addition to the ranking, Greater Des Moines is featured in the magazine’s latest edition.  Our friends at the Greater Des Moines Partnership worked with Forbes on the piece, and spent several days squiring a reporter around the area to connect him with business, civic, and community leaders.

The magazine will hit news stands on April 3, but the writer has shared that the feature on Greater Des Moines will be on page 100. 

As the magazine’s news release about this year’s rankings notes, “The findings help to paint a picture of what is happening in the overall U.S. economy, as well as in specific metro areas across the country.  Plus, the rankings offer a wide range of choices for the best places to launch a new business, consider for relocation, and much more. Interestingly, six of the ten metro areas are anchored by capital cities: maybe lobbyist spending boosts an economy?  This year, Raleigh, N.C. is number one for the second year in a row due in part, to its strong job growth. … Also, the Forbes ranking may have you rethinking Iowa as just ‘the corn state.’  Des Moines, ranked fourth, with its sports arena, art center and heated 3 mile skywalk, now boasts an unemployment rate of 3.4% and business costs that are 10% below the national average.”

The article is already on line.  Here’s the link: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0407/100.html