Top Rankings for Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County & the State of Florida

Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Rankings  

  • CBRE has named South Florida as one of the next ten tech markets to watch (Tech 30 – Measuring the Tech Industry’s Impact on U.S. & Canada Office Markets, 2020)
  • Greater Fort Lauderdale ranks 16th in the nation for Talent Attraction for counties with populations greater than 100,000 (Emsi, 2019) - up from 34th in 2018.
  • Nova Southeastern University has been ranked 51st in the Times Higher Education (THE) Young University Rankings 2020: Golden Age  [NSU was recognized as the highest new entry for the international rankings which included 308 universities from around the world.] (July, 2020)
  • South Florida ranks #8 in tech labor pool growth, according to CBRE report (July 2020)
  • Broward County Agencies Receive 13 National Achievement Awards - Click here for results (National Association of Counties, June, 2020)
  • Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport ranked #3 of the best large airports in the country (Wall Street Journal, February, 2020)
  • NSU Ranked 7th in Florida, Top 155 in the U.S. (QS Quacquarelli Symonds, May, 2020)
  • FAU ranked No. 1 in both Florida and the U.S. Southeast and also ranked No. 11 nationally and No. 59 globally (up from No. 71 in 2019) in the FT Executive Rankings (May, 2020)
  • Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing’s online master’s degree in nursing is ranked No. 7 in the nation for “Best Online Graduate Programs.”  FAU jumped to No. 7 from the No. 23 spot in 2019, and is the top-ranked program for private and public institutions in Florida (U.S. News & World Report, February 2020).
  • FDI Strategy ranked Greater Fort Lauderdale as seventh in the world for connectivity on its annual ranking of “Aerospace Cities of the Future 2018/19.” (fDi magazine, July 2018/19)
  • Pembroke Pines ranked #28 and Fort Lauderdale ranked #52 on WalletHub's 2019 Happiest Cities in America (WalletHub)
  • Top three metropolitan divisions (of 38 in the U.S.) for percent of job growth in 2016, 2017 and 2018 (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
  • Best small cities to start a business: Weston ranked #2, Lauderhill #13 in Nation (Verizon, 2018)
  • Fort Lauderdale ranked number #1 in nation for relocations (MoveBuddha, June 2018)
  • South Florida (Fort Lauderdale/Miami/West Palm Beach) ranked top 10 in Nation for women to start a business (Business.com, August 2018)  
  • Miami-Fort Lauderdale ranked #1 on the Kauffman Index of Startup Activity, 2017 (Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, 2017)
  • Greater Fort Lauderdale named one of Area Development's Leading Locations (Area Development, July 2016)
  • 26 Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) high schools earned placement on "America's Most Challenging High Schools" 2016 list. (News, June 2016)
  • Pembroke Pines highly rated for Hispanic business (WalletHub, 2016)
  • Deerfield Beach ranked 10 for starting small business (WalletHub, 2016)
  • Fort Lauderdale and Pembroke Pines named among Best Cities to Find a Job (Fort Lauderdale Daily, January 2016)
  • Broward College places high in national rankings (Sun Sentinel, 2015)
  • South Florida named among best regions for black-owned businesses to succeed (South Florida Business Journal, August 2015)
  • Miami-Fort Lauderdale -West Palm Beach MSA chosen as one of seven American Dream Cities (FEDC, June 2015)
  • Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Number Two Among Nation's Best Places to Start a Small Business (Kauffman Foundation, June 2015)
  • Fort Lauderdale Ranks among Top 50 U.S. "Tech Talent" Markets (CBRE, April 2015)
  • Global Trade magazine has named the City of Fort Lauderdale as one of the best cities for Global Trade and Port Everglades as one of it Favorite Ports.  (Global Trade magazine, November 2014)
  • Pembroke Pines has been named one of the Best Cities in which to Live.  (Money magazine, September 2014)
  • Pembroke Pines has been named the best city in the U.S. for Hispanic Entrepreneurs.  (WalletHub, September 2014)  
  • The City of Fort Lauderdale has been named an All America City for 2014.  (National Civic League, June 2014) 
  • Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach has been named No. 10 among the "Best U.S. Cities for Small Businesses," according to an analysis by small-business finance site Biz2Credit.com.  (Biz2Credit, May 2014)
  • The Greater Fort Lauderdale area (Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach Metropolitan Division) saw the second largest over-the-year percentage increase in the nation in metropolitan employment from 2013 to 2014 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2014) 
  • The Greater Fort Lauderdale MSA has been named one of the best cities for jobs in 2014 among large cities. (NewGeography, April 2014) 
  • Ten Broward County cities have been named Playful City USA honorees for their commitment to developing and maintaining parks.  The Broward cities, all of whom are repeat winners, include: Coconut Creek; Fort Lauderdale; Hallandale Beach; Lauderhill; Margate; Oakland Park; Parkland; Sunrise; Tamarac and West Park. (KaBOOM!  May 2014)
  • The City of Fort Lauderdale has been named one of the Top Ten most exciting midsized cities in America.  (Real estate blog Movoto, April 2014)
  • The City of Fort Lauderdale has been named as having one of the Top 10 downtowns in the U.S. by Livability.com.  (Livability.com, March 2014)
  • The City of Fort Lauderdale has been named one of the Top 25 Best Places to Live by Livability.com in their Top 100 Places to Live rankings. (Livability.com, October 2013)
  • Broward County (Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach MSA) has been ranked one of the hottest start-up hubs in America (Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, September 2013) 
  • Fort Lauderdale has been ranked No. 7 for economic potential on a list of the Top 10 Small American Cities of the Future, according to fDi Magazine (fDi Magazine, May 2013) 
  • The City of Hollywood has been ranked among the best places to live in Florida according to Livability.com, a comprehensive online resource on more than 500 of America's Best Places to live, visit, work, play and explore.  (Livability.com, May 2013) 
  • Port Everglades ranked top exporting Foreign-Trade Zone in the country for warehousing and distribution activity (FTZ Board’s 73rd Annual Report to the U.S. Congress, January 2013) 
  • North Lauderdale Among Best Communities - North Lauderdale has been named one of the nation's 100 Best Communities for Young People by America's Promise Alliance, the nation's largest alliance dedicated to children and youth. (January 2013)
  • Broward College named one of ten finalists for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance in America’s community colleges (September, 2012).
  • Forbes has named Fort Lauderdale the 2nd Happiest City for Young Professionals in the U.S.   (September, 2011)
  • NEWSWEEK Names Four BCPS High Schools Among America’s Best (NEWSWEEK, July 2011)
  • The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach metro is ranked #5 in the nation on the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, an annual study that measures business startup activity across the United States. (Kauffman Foundation, March 2011)
  • Miami-Fort Lauderdale among America's Top 25 High-Tech Cities (Business Week, December 2010) 
  • Coconut Creek and Coral Springs have been named among the top 100 cities to live in America (Money magazine, July 2010) 
  • The Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area ranks as the 3rd least-costly place to do business among 22 U.S. cities or metropolitan areas with populations exceeding 2 million, according to a study by KPMG LLP (KPMG, April 2010).
  • With 65% broadband adoption, 18 broadband providers and 13,403 people per WiFi hotpot, the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Miami MSA ranks among the most wired broadband areas in the nation.  (Forbes, March 2010) 
  • The Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area ranks as the 7th-best place to launch a new business in 2010, according to a new Portfolio.com/bizjournals study.  (Bizjournals, January 2010)
  • Broward College was ranked No. 3 nationally among top associate's-degree producing institutions in 2007-2008. Broward College granted 4,715 associate's degrees in all disciplines during that period. (Community College Week, June 2009)
  • Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Among Top 100 Tech Centers (Bizjournals, May 2009)
  • Fort Lauderdale and Coral Springs Make North American Cities of the Future/Top Cities in North America List - Fort Lauderdale has been named the number 2 best small city for business friendliness and Coral Springs is among the small cities with the highest growth of companies within the knowledge-based sector. (fDi Magazine, April/May 2009) 
  • Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Among the Nation's Best Places to Start a Small Business (Bizjournals, February 2009)

Florida Rankings

  • Business Facilities Magazine released their 2020 Metro Rankings report. Florida ranked in the Top 5 in the following categories:  Best Business Tax Climate, Tech jobs, GDP Leaders, FTZ, Opportunity Zone, Solar Power jobs, Startup ecosystems. Broward County (FTZ #25) ranked #5 in FTZ Export Activity (July, 2020) 
  • State of Florida ranted #2 in Chief Executive Magazine's 16th Annual CEO Survey of the Best and Worst States for Business. (June 2020) 
  • The Tax Foundation ranks State of Florida #4 again in Nation for 2020 (Tax Foundation, 2020)
  • Florida Named to Top 10 States for Tech-Driven Manufacturing (Global Trade, April 2019)
  • Florida ranked 4th lowest tax burden in U.S. by WalletHub (WalletHub, April 2019 Tax Burden by State Report)
  • Florida has 2nd lowest tax burden in U.S. (Key Policy Data, a joint venture between Public Choice Analytics and Visigov, March 2018)
  • Florida Ranked Best State in the Nation for Higher Education (U.S. News & World Report, March 2018)
  • Florida ranks #1 on Forbes list of best states for growth prospects (Forbes, November 2017)
  • Florida ranks #4 on Kiplinger's list of Most Tax-Friendly States (Business Report, November 2017) 
  • Florida ranks number one in quality of living environment (Chief Executive, May 2014)