SmartAsset Ranked the Ames MSA as the #1 Best Place to Work in Manufacturing

SmartAsset ranked the Ames MSA as the #1 Best Place to Work in Manufacturing. The 2022 ranking analyzed nearly 400 metro areas across topics such as manufacturing employment, income, and cost of living.

Local manufacturing can provide high wage jobs, be essential for innovation, help reduce the national trade deficit and contribute to environmental sustainability, according to The Brookings Institute. However, U.S. manufacturing jobs have been shrinking over the past few decades (down more than 35% between 1995 and 2020). Given this trend, SmartAsset annually highlights the areas of the country that have been and continue to be strongholds for manufacturing.

To do this, SmartAsset analyzed nearly 400 metro areas across topics such as manufacturing employment, income, and cost of living. The 2022 ranking marked the seventh study by SmartAsset on the best places to work in manufacturing.

Key findings show that Midwestern and Southern metro areas comprise the majority of the top 10 places. These areas rank well for historical job and income growth over one- and three-year periods. No Northeastern metro areas cracked the top 10.

Additionally, manufacturing industries are shrinking in more than half of metro areas. Of the 378 metro areas that were compared, 165 places saw a decline in the number of manufacturing workers between 2019 and 2020. This marks a significant change from last year’s study when only 113 metro areas saw a decline in manufacturing jobs between 2018 and 2019.

Ames, Iowa claimed the top spot in this year’s ranking after significant growth in both manufacturing employment and income over a one-year period beginning in 2019 - both of which increased by more than 13%. Over a longer period of time (three years), Ames also ranks top 30 for both of the aforementioned topics. Roughly 17% of the workforce is in the manufacturing industry and the area as a whole has a low unemployment rate of 2.4%.

​You can read more about the SmartAsset ranking and methodology on their website.

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