Raleigh ranks No. 1 overall on a list of the top mid-sized “American cities of the future” for 2015-16 published by fDi, a division of Financial Times.
The report is based on multiple factors: Economic potential, human capital and lifestyle, cost effectiveness, connectivity and business friendliness. Rankings are broken down by population into major, large, mid-sized, small and “micro” cities in the Americas.
In addition to its No. 1 ranking overall, Raleigh is also the No. 1 mid-sized city in the subcategory of economic potential and No. 7 in human capital and lifestyle.
Durham and Cary rank No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, in the small cities subcategory of economic potential.
Greenville is No. 9 overall among micro cities and No. 3 in fDi’s “strategy” ranking, a standalone qualitative measure based on efforts to promote foreign direct investments in the city. Charlotte ranks No. 7 in the major city “strategy” measure.
The top three overall “cities of the future” in each population category are as follows:
Major: New York City, San Francisco, Houston
Large: Vancouver, Seattle, San Jose
Mid-sized: Raleigh, Oakland, Ottawa
Small: Sunnyvale, California; Waterloo, Ontario; Stamford, Connecticut
Micro: Greenville, South Carolina; Plattsburgh, New York; Santa Fe Springs, California