California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

Forbes .com has just released a list of the top Cites, Where it is Hardest to
Get By - based upon cost of living, unemployment and median income comparing
the largest 50 metropolitan areas in the nation.

Unfortunately five of the cities listed in the Top 20 are from California.  Although
strangely missing are Oakland and San Francisco which are notoriously known for their
higher cost of living.

The current cost of living for each area was provided by the Council for Community
and Economic Research (C2ER), an Arlington, Va.-based organization that works with
local government and research groups to determine the costs of common goods across
the country. The average cost of living indicator is 100; cities with higher scores
are considered more expensive. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provided February
2009 unemployment rates. Median 2008 income was provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

1. Providence R.I.
2. Los Angeles
3. Riverside
4. Tampa Bay
5. Buffalo
6. Portland
7. Orlando
8. Detroit
9. Miami
10. Louisville

The top 20 is rounded out by Sacramento ranked 11th Cleveland, Las Vegas, Charlotte,
Rochester, Jacksonville, San Jose, San Diego, New York and Memphis.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.