Milwaukee among top 20 areas for businesses

The metro Milwaukee area moved up in rank from #18 to #16 this year as one of the top 20 areas for businesses, according to MarketWatch.

Cities were ranked according to eight categories including number of local Fortune 1000 companies, population and job growth.

Milwaukee outpaced such cities as St. Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Austin, Portland, Phoenix, Orlando and Los Angeles.

MarketWatch, which describes itself as the "leading online financial-news publisher," is part of the Wall Street Journal Digital Network.

Read the MarketWatch article.

Meanwhile, the cost of doing business in Wisconsin ranks among the nation’s lowest — 4.6% lower than the national average, according to the Milken Institute.