Economic Think Tank Rates Daphne/Fairhope/Foley Highly

The Daphne/Fairhope/Foley metropolitan area ranked fifth in a survey of U.S. small cities’ economic performance, up from 14th last year, according to the Milken Institute, an economic think tank in California, AL.com reports. Focusing on where businesses create new jobs and workers earn higher wages, Best-Performing Cities 2021 indicated the possible trend of America’s center of economic gravity shifting southward because of lower cost-of-living and high-tech opportunities. While Daphne/Fairhope/Foley scored poorly in high-tech indicators, it was high for one- and five-year job growth and wage growth. Its employment is largely concentrated in education, healthcare and retail sectors, and its beaches were a good source of revenue generation as the pandemic raged.