Durham is Tops in Creative Class

Durham, NC is a very innovative place filled with people doing work that is decidedly creative, most of it in ways many wouldn't automatically define as such on first glance. In fact, though some might be surprised by this, more than a third of the nation's workforce is considered to be in the creative class - and Durham has a high concentration of those businesses.

In a study authored by Richard Florida, a leading expert on the creative class, which was released on the website TheAtlanticCities.com, Durham's metro area came in the top spot with 48.4% of workers involved in creative class jobs.

According to the study, "professionals in the fields of science and technology, design and architecture, arts, entertainment and media, and healthcare, law, management and education" are all considered to be in the creative class.  As such, given Durham's employer landscape with two universities and being home to most of the Research Triangle Park, the number one spot on such a list makes a great deal of sense.

"Durham ranked number one in a similar creative class analysis before. That study looked at Durham as compared to 300+ similar markets," said DCVB President & CEO Shelly Green. "Durham has always ranked high for its creative class, but now it's number one when compared to the entire country.  Durhamites should be very proud of this latest recognition from such a well-respected source." Durham is regularly lauded as a top destination to live, work, and do business. Learn more about it here.