Ranked by Forbes and Inc. Magazine as one of the Best Small Places for Business and Careers, Bloomington is a leader when it comes to employment, education and infrastructure. According to the US Census Bureau, the Bloomington MSA 2007 total resident labor force is represented by more than 95,000 people, while 96 percent of those people are employed. The US Census Bureau estimates that by 2010 more than 190,000 people will reside in Bloomington MSA. The number of high-wage jobs also is high with 57 percent of the workforce being employed in white-collar occupations. Bloomington's unemployment rate has consistently outperformed the national rate by an average of 2%. According to the Adversity Index, Bloomington ranked third out of the 16 small metros reporting job growth in the quarter ending in February 2010.

Its culture of education and entrepreneurship has contributed to the rise of the high-tech and life sciences industry in Bloomington. According to the 2008 Miliken Institute Best Performing Cities Report, Bloomington has the highest proportion of high-tech jobs among 124 small metropolitan areas, and Entrepreneur Magazine praises Bloomington as one of the “hottest small cities for entrepreneurs.” Over 5,000 Bloomington residents are employed in the Life Sciences industry in well-established firms such as Cook, Inc., Baxter Pharmaceutical, and Boston Scientific, as well as emerging Life Sciences firms such as Predictive Physiology and Medicine Inc., a rapidly expanding, homegrown biotech firm established in 2005. To learn more about Bloomington's tech and life sciences sectors, click here.

Photo source: Economy.com