Honolulu rises on Forbes list
By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer
Honolulu continued to move up Forbes magazine's list of Best Places for Business, thanks in part to strong job growth generated by the state's healthy economy.
Honolulu's ranking at 103 on the list of 150 large metro areas published in the magazine's
May 23 issue, was an improvement from last year's 113 position. Hawai'i's booming economy during the past two years has helped improve Honolulu's ranking markedly compared with earlier years when the city would rank near the bottom.
"When we're not at the bottom that is better," said Alex McGehee, executive vice president of Enterprise Honolulu, an economic development agency. "I'm not going to criticize Forbes."
Forbes magazine's list of best places to do business can be found at www.forbes.com.
The list "has some significance and it's read in the business community," McGehee added. "Things in general are getting better. But there's always going to be a (higher) cost of doing business here."
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Honolulu was ranked 142 on the list as recently as 2003. Hawai'i has fared so poorly that Forbes in 1997 labeled the state "The People's Republic of Hawai'i" and in 2002 likened doing business in Honolulu as "nearly equivalent to suicide." The stinging criticisms prompted former Gov. Ben Cayetano to fire back at Forbes, calling the magazine "far right."
This year some of the magazine's harshest comments were directed at Biloxi, Miss., which ranked No. 144 out of 150 large metros. The Gulf Coast community was recognized as a "clunker city" and a business "basket case."
Heading the magazine's list of the best big cities for business and careers were: Boise, Idaho; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and Austin, Texas.
Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.
