Pennsylvania cities rank poorly in list of best performing metros

Pennsylvania cities not only tended to be low down on the list, but in most cases actually ranked lower than they did in 2013.

The Milken Institute has put out its 2014 ranking of best-performing cities; Pennsylvania cities tended to perform poorly and in most cases actually ranked lower than they did in 2013. The Institute used factors like job growth, wage and salary growth, and the presence of high-tech industries to evaluate urban centers. Here’s where the Milken Institute ranked Pa. cities:

Large Cities and Metros	2014 Ranking (of 200 total)	2013 Ranking
Pittsburgh	79	31
Allentown	93	52
Philadelphia	110	109
Harrisburg	111	130
Lancaster	168	168
Reading	176	126
Erie	181	96
York	187	108
Scranton	189	173

Small Cities and Metros	2014 Ranking (of 179 total)	2013 Ranking
Williamsport	33	6
State College	37	28
Lebanon	49	24
Altoona	112	86
Johnstown	149	99

Indeed, of the 25 biggest decliners, five were Pennsylvania metro areas, the most of any other state. But that doesn’t necessaily mean the cities are actually in bad shape, rather they could just be growing at a slower clip than other urban centers. Of these decliners, the report states: “Metros experiencing the largest declines were concentrated in Middle Atlantic and New England states. To some extent, longer-term subpar growth trends are reemerging, after having been masked during the Great Recession. Most of these metros have more service-based economies that didn’t experience as severe a decline as many with a greater reliance on manufacturing.” The Rust Belt, too, which has traditionally depended on manufacturing, did not fare well in Milken’s rankings.  

According to the report, the presence of technology centers and shale energy were two important factors in determining the top performers. But, again, the Marcellus Shale development in Pa. was oversahdowed by more quickly growing markets. Report author Minoli Ratnatunga said “the metros that are benefiting from energy in our report this year are either on the small metros list and where the industry is still drilling and energy is a larger component of the local economy, or in Texas where activity is higher and there has also been growth in international headquarters jobs and/or lots of new construction.”

Overall, San Francisco emerged as the best performing large city and Fargo as the best performing small city.