Tulsa ranks #6 on "Best Cities for Jobs" list issued by Forbes 

Forbes.com generated their "Best Cities for Jobs" list last week and Tulsa ranked #6, a jump from the #35 ranking Tulsa received in 2005. It is an exciting, while not surprising, report for the simple reason that the Chamber has been a strong advocate for the cities' strength and potential as the organization continues to concentrate on workforce attraction.

"These rankings are constructive because they provide expert outside validation of our quality of life and the progress that Tulsa continues to pursue," comments Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Metro Chamber.

Criteria for the list was derived from rankings among median household income, unemployment, income growth, cost of living, and job growth within the largest 100 metropolitan areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Within those specific rankings Tulsa pulled out a win by ranking 7th in income growth, 10th in cost of living, 18th in job growth and 23rd in low unemployment. However, the 93rd rank in median household income confirms that there is always room for improvement.

Mayor Kathy Taylor mentioned that favorable fluctuation in median household income proves to be difficult. Tulsa metropolitan area median household income was $41,649 in 2006, but efforts within the education programs like Tulsa Achieves and the Chamber's Scholars program are approaches that Tulsa is executing to help the city move up on the household income ranking.

"It's not only creating jobs, but creating good paying professional jobs is the inspiration behind Tulsa's Future efforts," says Neal.

The Chamber's efforts also include continued success with the Tulsa's Future initiative which has committed to creating 26,000 jobs in Tulsa by 2010. Of the 4,422 jobs created by Tulsa's Future in 2006, 1,592 equaled or exceeded the $45,000 salary mark. This is a step in the right direction for Tulsa.