Florida cities lead top performers

Florida cities lead top performers In a national survey of the best performing cities where jobs are created and sustained, Florida dominated with 12 metro areas in the nation's top 30, according to Enterprise Florida Inc.
   The survey was conducted by the Milken Institute and covered 379 U.S. metropolitan areas based on their economic performance and their ability to create and keep the greatest number of jobs.
   Florida had the top three performing metro areas in the nation, six of the top 10, and 12 of the top 30.
   Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville was ranked first, followed by Cape Coral-Fort Meyers and Naples-Marco Island.
   Delta-Dayton Beach-Ormond Beach was fifth, Orlando-Kissimmee sixth, and Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach ninth.
   The other metro areas in the top 30 were Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce at number 12, Ocala at 13, Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice at 24, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater at 25, Gainesville at 26, and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach at 27.
   The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, independent economic think tank based in Santa Monica, Calif.