You'd never believe it based on yesterday's report that Santa Cruz is one of the most expensive places to raise children, but Forbes Magazine picked the county as the sixth best place to live for future job growth, after Austin, Fort Worth, Houston and McAllen, Texas and Ocala, Florida.
The magazine predicts a 3.4 percent job growth in the county of 267,000, because of its average income of $62,000 and unemployment of 9 percent. Austin, in first place, expects 4 percent annual job growth.
The magazine does an annual survey of best places for business and careers. While Santa Cruz was high on the future for job growth, it was ranked 101 as a place to do business and have a career. The magazine counted Santa Cruz and Watsonville as one metro area of 267,000 people, with major industries of agriculture, tourism and technology.
The area was ranked 22 for education, 165 as a place to do business, and 179 for job growth.
Mayor Hilary Bryant was happy with the announcement for future job growth.
"When I think of the last half decade in Santa Cruz, I see an unbroken string of entrepreneurship," she wrote in an email while at a Junior Lifeguard competition with her two children. "From Cruzio's efforts to bring fiber over the hill and give new life to the old Sentinel Building to NextSpace's expansion across the state to the emergence of Santa Cruz Bicycles, Fox Shocks, and Ibis as industry leaders, this is a local economy we can all be proud of.
"The City has been a partner in this growth, both in terms of coordination with the University on tech transfer and the Project for Innovation and Entrepreneurship as well as focusing City resources on economic development by setting up weekly retention visits to businesses and bringing our processes online with OpenCounter.
"Santa Cruz made Forbes' list because our business community is in the forefront of the emerging economy that is based upon networking small businesses together. Our economic development strategy aligns with the new economy as we seek ways to improve the conditions for small businesses to thrive here, as opposed to focusing on attracting large employers. It is an approach that seems to be working well in Santa Cruz.
"I'm incredibly excited about the progress we've made, and looking forward to more in the future. "
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