Seattle Metro, Bozeman Micro Strongest U.S. Economies

PALM CITY, Fla., Jan. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The three county Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Area ranked #1 as the strongest local economy in the United States in POLICOM's annual community "economic strength" rankings. 

The Bozeman, MT Micropolitan Area (Gallatin County) for the third straight year was ranked #1 among the Micropolitan Areas, which are smaller economies.Annually, POLICOM ranks the 384 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and 543 Micropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States for "economic strength" which is the long-term tendency for an area to consistently grow in both size and quality.For the economic strength rankings for all 927 areas along with their geographic definition, go to www.policom.com.

"The top rated areas have had rapid, consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period of time," William H. Fruth, President of POLICOM.  POLICOM, located in Palm City, FL, specializes in analyzing local and state economies and advising communities on how to improve them. 

"The rankings do not reflect the latest 'hotspot' or 'boom town,' but the areas which have the best economic foundation," Fruth continued.

The study measures twenty-three different economic factors over a twenty-year period. The formulas determine how an economy has behaved over an extended period of time. 

Data stretching from 2000 to 2019 (latest available) was used for this study. It does not include the impact of COVID-19 on the economy in 2020. POLICOM has created this study each year since 1997.

Defined by the Federal government, a Metropolitan area must be at least one county and have a city with a population of at least 50,000. Most are composed of multiple counties.

Micropolitan areas are smaller areas, must have at least one county, and have an urban center of at least 10,000 but fewer than 50,000 people.

Statistical areas are composed of one or more counties but are "named" after the largest city or cities in the area.

The following are the ten strongest and weakest Metropolitan and Micropolitan areas.

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SOURCE POLICOM Corporation