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Yes, Ocala is No. 1, but let us hear it for all of Florida

Don't you just love it when a fresh ranking comes out and the newly anointed top dog, the first draft choice, the king of the mountain is so dumbfounded that it must ask such a question?

By Robert Trigaux, Times Business Editor
Published October 14, 2007

We're No. 1?

Don't you just love it when a fresh ranking comes out and the newly anointed top dog, the first draft choice, the king of the mountain is so dumbfounded that it must ask such a question?

But We're No. 1? is precisely the opening sentence of a recent Ocala Star-Banner newspaper story noting that its little old city - a one-time sleepy horse farm town, a mid-Florida stop along Interstate 75 perhaps best known for the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing - is the best performing city in terms of sustainable jobs and economic growth out of 200 metropolitan areas in the United States.

They're No. 1?

So claims the 2007 Best Performing Cities report, published by the Milken Institute, a California economic research group.

No disrespect to Ocala. Spent a great week there one day. But who knew? Certainly not their economic cheerleaders.

"Pleasantly shocked" is how Pete Tesch, president of the Ocala/Marion County Economic Development Corp., responded to the Milken rankings.

To Ocala's credit, the report named the city No. 1, up from 13th in its prior ranking, and praised its torrid 5.6 percent job-growth rate between 2004 and 2006, as well as its greater-than-usual in Florida reliance on manufacturing (as in higher-paying jobs) from such area stalwarts as Lockheed Martin and Cingular (now AT&T) Wireless.

Okay, so maybe the larger Tampa Bay area is a bit jealous. We landed at No. 44 on the Milken rankings, down a striking 19 spots from 25th in the 2005 report. What most zinged this area is its modest job growth in the past few years. It's true. New job creation is closer to a stroll lately than a vigorous jog.

But let's "Zoom Out" a bit on the Milken map of Central Florida and look more broadly.

- Three of the top 10 best-performing large cities in the country are in Florida: (1st) Ocala, (5th) Orlando-Kissimmee and (6th) Naples-Marco Island.

- Five of the top 25 cities are in Florida, including (13th) Cape Coral-Fort Myers and (14th) Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice.

- Thirteen areas in the top 50, including (44th) Tampa Bay, are in Florida. That's a 26 percent clip. No other state comes close.

Impressive, especially since we're spending an awful lot of time lately bemoaning Florida's weak housing market. Milken Institute did not ignore it, but cited counter-balances.

"Overbuilding in Florida's housing market will likely cause some deterioration in performance for 2008, but strong travel and tourism, especially among foreign tourists due to the weakening dollar, will mitigate some of the drag from housing," the report says.

Which other Florida cities showed the strongest gains in ranks since the 2005 report? Jacksonville and Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice made double-digit leaps in improvement.

Who sank the most? Miami sank a whopping 39 spots to 112th, followed by Port St. Lucie (down 29), Fort Lauderdale (down 26), the Daytona Beach area (down 25) and ... Tampa Bay's decline of 24 spots.

Among smaller cities, the Florida Panhandle's Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin area dropped from No. 1 nationwide in the 2005 report to No. 20.

All in all, darn respectable from a U.S. view. Kudos, Florida.

Robert Trigaux can be reached at trigaux@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8405.

[Last modified October 12, 2007, 22:48:59]