Forbes report: Kansas City is a top 5 metro for high-wage jobs
June 28, 2017 | Bobby Burch
Kansas City is atop yet another national list touting its economic vibrancy.
Forbes recently released a report analyzing U.S. cities that create the most high-wage jobs, and Kansas City earned the No. 2 spot. The magazine said the City of Fountains’ low taxes and pro-business regulatory environment helped launch it into the top five cities for high-wage jobs.
“KC, better known in the rest of the country for barbecue and its music scene (though not quite Nashville), has grown a vibrant economy based in good part on service businesses in architecture and innovative administrative support models (especially for health care providers), accounting for some 100,000 jobs in professional and business services,” Forbes’ Joel Kotkin wrote.
The study analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the 70 largest labor markets in the country. It evaluated employment in the business services sector over time, looking at short-, medium- and long-term job trends.
Kansas City boasts 469,200 jobs in the business services sector, netting a 9.3 percent growth between 2011 to 2016, according to the report. Its growth in business service jobs outpaces tech hotbeds such as San Francisco and San Jose.
Nashville, Tenn., took the No. 1 spot in the list with 968,800 jobs in the business services sector and a 20.6 percent growth between 2011 to 2016, according to the report. Austin earned the No. 3 spot, San Francisco the No. 4 and Dallas a No. 5 ranking.

2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Betty Rae’s sells to Shatto: Why the ice cream brand’s young steward is stepping away from the scoop (for now)
An announcement this week that Betty Rae’s Ice Cream could open new shops and push its popular products into grocery stores is exciting growth to envision, agreed Alec Rodgers, the brand’s steward since 2021 when he bought and reopened its two storefronts amid challenges of the ongoing pandemic. Rodgers just won’t be the man behind…
Entrepreneur meets with VP Harris; surprised DC already knew about KC’s first Black-owned brewery
Word travels. A roundtable discussion this week with Vice President Kamala Harris gave Kemet Coleman an opportunity to put his city, and specifically the 18th and Vine neighborhood, on an elevated platform, the Kansas City entrepreneur and musician said. Coleman — one of three co-founders of the soon-to-be-opened Vine Street Brewing, Missouri’s first Black-owned brewery…
This startup’s AI, Bluetooth tech could push traffic to businesses, boost equity when World Cup comes to KC
This spring’s NFL Draft served as a beta test for Kansas City’s implementation of Jonathan Ruiz’s bluetooth technology, he said, noting that the tech and data could help better prepare the city for the World Cup in 2026. “We wanted to start collecting this data for our partners in Kansas City’s Downtown and City Market,…
Rhinestone’d to RuPaul reality: Fan-turned-KC fashion icon shines with ‘Drag Race’ design
RuPaul may not know Whitney Manney’s name, but the “Drag Race” host is now acquainted with the Kansas City fashion designer’s work, she said. The owner of the KC-based WHITNEYMANNEY label had the “wild experience” of designing and constructing the trans-pride, “Troop Beverly Hills”-inspired entrance look for Monica Beverly Hillz for Season 8 of “RuPaul’s…
