New York, NY (May 4, 2006)—Albuquerque, New Mexico heads Forbes’ Best Places for Business and Careers Survey (p. 196), up from fifth place last year. Perennial top 10 metros such as Atlanta (#15), Austin (#28) and Washington, D.C.-Northern Virginia (#17) fell from the highest rankings due to slowing income growth. This year’s list expands to include the 200 largest metro areas, up from 150, thanks to reconfiguring statistical regions, splitting locales like Raleigh-Durham in two. Criteria for the ranking includes: business and living costs, the education of the work force, job and income growth, migration patterns over the past five years, crime rates and a culture-and-leisure index.

2006 Top Ten Places for Business and Careers:

1. Albuquerque, New Mexico (#5, 2005)                    

2. Raleigh, North Carolina (#2, 2005)                          

3. Houston, Texas (#13, 2005)                                   

4. Boise, Idaho (#1, 2005)                                        

5. Knoxville, Tennessee (#17, 2005)      

6. Phoenix, Arizona (# 12, 2005)  

7. Nashville, Tennessee (#43, 2005)       

8. Durham, North Carolina (#2, 2005)     

9. Fayetteville, Arkansas (#7, 2005)

10. Indianapolis, Indiana (#33, 2005)


For details on the 200 largest metro areas, and a ranking of 179 smaller ones, visit www.forbes.com/bestplaces