Cedar Rapids, Des Moines get No. 1 rankings from Forbes

Forbes Magazine, the national economic and business journal, has named Des Moines as the No. 1 city in America for businesses and careers, and Cedar Rapids the No. 1 city for projected job growth.

In moving Des Moines into first place from seventh place a year ago, Forbes cited Des Moines' highly educated workforce, low cost of business, and high quality of life as factors in its ranking.

“Iowa's economy is growing, and we are clearly ‘open for business,'” said Gov. Chet Culver. “As we continue to recover from the economic challenges of the last few years, it's certain that good things are happening in Iowa in terms of creating jobs and strengthening our economy.”

Additionally, in 2008, Iowa had the eighth-fastest growing economy in the nation according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. CNBC's 2009 “Top States for Business” survey ranks Iowa the fourth best in the nation and number one for low costs of doing business. Finally, last year, MarketWatch, another national financial publication, named Des Moines number one in the country for doing business.