Home | Press Room | Press Release Archives | Sprint Most Productive Cities

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For Immediate Release January 27, 1999
Contact: Edith Esquenazi
Sprint Business
972-405-5318
edith.esquenazi@mail.sprint.com

Kansas City, Missouri, Jan. 27, 1999 - Bigger isn't necessarily better when it comes to hot spots for American business productivity. According to a recent study conducted by Sprint Business, the most productive cities in the country include several of the nation's powerful centers of business and commerce - as well as many smaller communities that benefit from a diverse economic base and a pool of highly educated, well-trained workers. And regardless of the size of city, small business growth emerged as a key indicator of productivity.

The Sprint Business study also suggests a high concentration of business productivity in the West and South, with all of the top 10 cities located in either western or southern regions of the country. The study names Dallas as the "Most Productive City in America," followed by San Francisco, San Jose, Calif., Houston and Atlanta. Eight of the top 10 most productive cities, and more than half of the top 50 cities, are located west of the Mississippi River.

Sprint's productivity study, conducted for the second consecutive year by Decision Analyst, Inc., a Texas-based independent research firm, evaluated the productivity of all 313 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the contiguous United States, as recognized by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Last year's study ranked only the top 50 MSAs. The study also was expanded this year to include rankings of the nine U.S. Census divisions, which are regions throughout the country grouped by state, and for the first time included trending information based on seven years of historical data.

"This study - one of the most comprehensive of its kind - has identified cities across the country that can serve as models of productivity for all businesses," said Sue Sentell, vice president of marketing and product management. "For example, based on the study, we know that a diverse economic climate is one of the key ingredients that enhances business productivity. But we also have learned that a healthy mix of both large established businesses and start-up companies is equally important in determining the productivity of a particular city or region. That's our mission at Sprint Business - to ensure that businesses of all sizes have the tools they need to achieve maximum productivity."

The Results

Dallas' top ranking in the Sprint survey was based on the city's diverse and vibrant economic climate, which has included a 17-percent growth in the number of business establishments in recent years, and features a broad cross-section of established businesses in growing industries such as technology, communications, professional services, banking and financial services. The Dallas metropolitan area ranks highest among the top five most productive cities in terms of per capita income and employee earnings growth, and benefits from a base of highly skilled workers and a strong regional transportation center.

What are the specific factors that contributed to a top productivity ranking? To determine each city's economic productivity, the Sprint study examined a set of eight criteria that were measured and quantified, and when added together formed an economic productivity composite index. Decision Analyst then ranked each of the 313 MSAs according to the index. Among the key measurement criteria, MSAs that scored high in business sector diversity, population growth and employment growth typically were the most productive. An MSA is defined as a geographic area that consists of a city with a population of 50,000 people or more, including suburban communities adjacent to the city.

According to the Sprint study, the top 10 most productive cities in America are:

  Each of these cities has a diverse economic base and highly skilled labor force, which are keys to its high productivity ranking, according to the study. All of the top cities possess either strong manufacturing economies or are regional centers for retail trade, transportation and/or professional services. The study also revealed that business expansion, especially small business growth, is a necessary component of productivity. In four of the top five most productive cities, the growth of small businesses outpaced the number of large businesses established during the most recent five-year period.

Based on Decision Analyst's regional evaluation, which encompassed information throughout all of the states within a particular region rather than the region's individual metropolitan areas, the study ranked the Mountain and Midwest regions as the strongest centers for business productivity in the United States. The complete ranking of the nine major U.S. Census regions, in order from most to least productive, is as follows:

• Mountain Division (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada)
• East North Central Division (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin)
• West North Central Division (Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas)
• West South Central Division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas)
• East South Central Division (Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi)
• South Atlantic Division (Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida)
• Middle Atlantic Division (New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania)
• New England Division (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut)
• Pacific Division (Washington, Oregon and California)

Alaska and Hawaii were not included in the study

Study Methodology

The Sprint/Decision Analyst productivity study utilized 1990-97 trend data for all categories of economic criteria, with the exception of educational attainment, which uses 1980-90 Census trend data, and certain growth rates used to determine business sector diversity, which were derived from 1990-95 Census trend data. The set of eight criteria used for determining each city's productivity index included:

• Employment rates
• Growth rates in population and employment
• Average real per capita income adjusted for the cost of living in metropolitan areas
• Educational attainment and workforce training
• Output per worker
• Business sector diversity, including growth of business establishments; differences in average earnings per worker and employment growth rates between goods-producing sectors and service-related sectors; and earnings per capita and earnings per capita growth rates for each sector
• Per capita income and earnings growth rate
• Air transportation accessibility

These criteria were chosen by the research organization to provide an accurate indication of each city's current economic landscape, allowing for an objective evaluation of the business conditions and overall economic performance of each city. According to Sue Chang, vice president and director of econometrics for Decision Analyst, this type of evaluation provides a broader definition of productivity than the traditional measurement of output per worker that the U.S. government uses.

A similar process was performed to rank all of the regional Census divisions. Census division data represents the sum of those states within each division rather than the sum of the total MSAs.

According to Sentell, Sprint's productivity study can provide valuable insights to businesses of all sizes. "Taking a closer look at the companies that comprise these centers of American business efficiency will assist business owners in identifying the specific working environments and business practices that boost productivity," she said. "Combined with productivity-enhancing business products such as Sprint's communications services, this data provides the tools that enable businesses to become more productive and do more business."

Sprint

Sprint is a global communications company, at the forefront in integrating long distance, local and wireless communications services, and is one of the world's largest carriers of Internet traffic. Sprint developed and operates the United States' only nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and is the leader in advanced data communications services. Sprint has $15 billion in annual revenues and serves more than 16 million business and residential customers.

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Editor's Note: Sprint Business has expanded the criteria for determining "The Most Productive City in America" since the first study in 1997, adding trend data from 1990-97. Therefore, the results of the 1998 and 1997 studies cannot be compared. In addition, the updated study to identify "The Most Productive City in America" used the most recent data available from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Woods & Poole Economics, the Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia and San Francisco, the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, Department of Education. Statistics regarding educational attainment were compiled from 1980-90 Census trend data. Statistics regarding various business growth rates used to determine business sector diversity were compiled from 1990-95 Census trend data.

For additional information contact:
Cristi Allen
Publicity
Email: callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 1.800.ANALYSIS (262.5974)
Address: 604 Avenue H East
Arlington, TX 76011

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