New York, NY – The Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) today released its 2016 Competitiveness Scorecard, which assesses the competitiveness of the New York City metropolitan area (NYC metro) in attracting and retaining highly educated talent. The Scorecard compares NYC metro with the 14 other largest metropolitan areas in the United States on a comprehensive set of quantitative indicators covering demographics, human capital, and quality of life. For purposes of this study, the New York City metropolitan area includes New York City, Long Island, the lower Hudson Valley, northern New Jersey (including Newark and New Brunswick), and Pike County, Pennsylvania.

The Scorecard shows that NYC metro compares favorably with its competitors. Of the 30 categories measured, NYC metro scored first in nine; Washington, DC was first in six, Silicon Valley in five, and Houston, Miami, and San Diego in three each. Silicon Valley includes the metro areas of San Francisco and San Jose.

For NYC metro, lengthy commutes and high rental housing costs continue to pose policy challenges. NYC metro is last among the metro areas in commute time.

This is the second CBC Competitiveness Scorecard; a previous version was issued in 2013. Since the first Scorecard, NYC metro’s rank has slipped to 10th and 13th in the percent change of young and highly educated and highly educated, respectively.

“Highly educated talent is mobile and can choose where to live and work,” said CBC President Carol Kellermann. “New York City needs to keep that constantly in mind and pursue policies that will enhance our competitiveness.”

“We can’t take our competition for granted,” said Maria Doulis, CBC’s Vice President. “The Scorecard highlights our strengths and points to the areas in which we must improve in order to remain an attractive location for residents and businesses.”