Small Cities Feed the Knowledge Economy

Livable cities draw creative people, and creative people spawn jobs. Some places you’d never expect—small cities not dominated by a university—are learning how to lure knowledge workers, entrepreneurs, and other imaginative types at levels that track or even exceed the US average (30 percent of workers).

Here are some surprising destinations from the data of the Martin Prosperity Institute, directed by Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class.

Source: Martin Prosperity Institute (martinprosperity.org) at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Locations based on Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

Map Illustration: Bryan Christie

By Adam Davidson

May 31, 2011 |  12:00 pm |
Wired June 2011

Read more  wired.com/magazine