Job growth, wages and the tech sector in Raleigh were cited as reasons in the report by the Milken Institute. A new report from Milken names Raleigh the nation’s best-performing large metropolitan area.

The large metro area includes areas with populations larger than 275,000, and only three of the top 10 metro areas included populations that exceeds 1 million. Raleigh is one of those metro areas.

The Milken Institute today released its 2025 Best-Performing Cities: Mapping Economic Growth across the U.S. report, with Charlotte landing at No. 24 among large metros in the index. Charlotte placed at No. 10 in 2024 — its best spot since the Milken Institute began tracking the rankings in 2012.

The Charlotte region’s economic growth fell when compared to other large U.S. metro areas, while Raleigh’s was the best in the country, according to a new study from a nonprof