Another Gold Star for Richmond

Three Virginia cities make nation's 'Best for Business' list
Blacksburg, Charlottesville, and Richmond have made Forbes magazine's annual short list of metro areas that are business-friendly in the U.S.Forbes magazine has for the tenth year in a row ranked the 200 largest metro areas according to their business acumen. Cities topping the list have solid job growth, an educated labor pool and low business costs. The calculation also includes tax, energy and office space costs, and takes into account Economy.com's living cost index.Six of the 10 top metro areas are in and around state capitals.Here are the magazine's top choices (in ranking order):
Best Metros:
Raleigh, N.C.
Boise, Idaho
Fort Collins, Colo.
Des Moines, Iowa
Lexington, Ky.
Atlanta, Ga.
Richmond, Va.
Olympia, Wash.
Spokane, Wash.
Knoxville, Tenn.
Best Smaller Metros:
Sioux Falls, S.D.
Iowa City, Iowa
Bloomington, Ind.
Columbia, Mo.
Bismarck, N.D.
Morgantown, W.Va.
Rapid City, S.D.
Greenville, N.C.
Charlottesville, Va.
Blacksburg, Va.
Source: Forbes, Kurt Badenhausen (03/19/2008)