Although it is rather small, it packs a huge punch.
Washington's capital had been relegated to our ranking of the best small metro areas in years past, but thanks to a 2% annual growth in population (twice the national average), the Olympia metro and its 233,000 people graduated to the big metro list this year.
"But they're rather small.
Go online to get fuller and searchable data on the 150 metropolitan regions ranked in this issue (see p. 156) and an additional 168 smaller metro areas.
There you will also find a ranking of 168 smaller metro areas, along with information about them.
For more detailed information on the 150 largest metro areas, go to www.forbes.com/bestplaces, where you'll also find a ranking of 168 smaller metro areas and their vital stats.
It is home to the University of Iowa and 47% of adults have a college degree, which is third-highest among small metros.
The gross metro product for the Sioux Falls metro is $10.9 billion which is the largest of any of the small metros we examined.
"The prevailing theory is that big metro areas perform less well than smaller metro areas," Doctor said.
