50 Best Cities + Towns For Doing Business in Central MA
Monday, March 18, 2013
What are the best cities and towns in Central MA for doing business?
GoLocal's new ranking, 50 Best Cities + Towns For Doing Business in Central MA, takes an analytical look at every city and town in the region on a set of pro-business metrics: those big cities and small towns where a combination of factors make companies grow.
Our researchers culled municipally-distinct data on tax rates, workforce availability, cost of living index, economic indicators for short-term and long-term job growth, even average driving time to Logan Airport, to quantify a blend of factors that make for a pro-business environment. Because every city and town in Central MA complies by statewide measures, those metrics weren't included in GoLocal's research.
Top performers in 2013
The top performing cities and towns managed a balance of reasonable taxes and cost of living index performance, paired with robust indicators for growth, a good-sized labor force, and relative closeness to the business-friendly services of Logan Airport in Boston.
Northbridge claimed the top spot in this year's ranking, where low commercial and personal property taxes ($12.35 per $1,000 of assessed value) added to positive current and projected job growth, as well as a cost of living that fell near the middle of the range exhibited throughout the Central Mass region.
Worcester came in at #2, despite boasting among the highest commercial and personal property taxes in the region $(30.85 per $1,000 of assessed value). However, the lower cost of living, large workforce and high projected job growth, not to mention a relatively easy trip to Logan, more than made up for the tax factors. Shrewsbury was not far behind at #3, slightly closer to Boston and with much lower commercial and personal property taxes ($11.67 per $1,000 of assessed value), but the highest cost of living in the top 5 finishers for 2013.
Uxbridge and Charlton, coming in at #4 and #5, boasted comparable tax rates ($16.28 and $12.30 per $1,000 of assessed value, respectively), strong projected job growth and lower cost of living indices.
To see how the top 50 cities and towns ranked, and to compare tax rates and other data, see the slides, below. All tax rates are per $1,000 of assessed value.
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the local commercial and personal property tax rates as percentages. They are actually dollars per $1,000 of assessed value.
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