Raleigh was ranked by Forbes as the #4 Fastest Growing City in the U.S. To determine these rankings Forbes analyzed the 100 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget using Moody’s Analytics.  

According to Forbes the rankings were determined by:

• Estimated Population Growth for 2014 and 2015
• Year-Over-Year Job Growth for 2014
• 2014 Gross Metro Product Growth (Economic Growth Rate)
• Federal Unemployment Data
• Median Annual pay for college-educated workers