B.R. ranks low for business and careers

• Advocate business staff report
• Published: Mar 21, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:20 p.m.

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Baton Rouge ranks 142nd in Forbes Magazine’s new list of the 200 best cities for business and careers.

New Orleans ranks 161st, Shreveport is 162nd and Lafayette 163rd.

The overall ranking was based on where a city ranks in nine categories. Baton Rouge fares better than average on the cost of doing business (50th); job growth (43rd); and net migration (78th).

The city does poorly when judged by cost of living (106th); educational attainment (126th); culture and leisure (134th); colleges (159th); income growth (181st); and crime rate (187th).

Raleigh, N.C., finished first, followed by Boise, Idaho; Fort Collins, Colo.; Des Moines, Iowa; and Lexington, Ky.

A ranking of smaller metro areas has Alexandria at 128; Houma at 133; Lake Charles at 144; and Monroe at 156.

Forbes’ sources were Economy.com, Sperling's BestPlaces and the FBI Index of Crime.

The list can be found at http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/1/bestplaces08_Best-Places-For-Business-And-Careers_Rank.html.