The Provo-Orem statistical area is the nation's "best-performing" city, according to a report out today.

The Milken Institute, a California-based economic think-tank, says the area jumped from eighth place last year to first this year based on strong job growth, wage appreciation and the health of the high-tech industry. Much of that can be attributed to its rapid recovery from the dot-com bust of the early 2000s from which other places are still recovering, said Ross DeVol, director of regional economics at the Institute.

"Provo actually has seen its high-tech employment rise above its previous peak in 2001," he said. "There aren't many places in the country that can say that."

In individual criteria, the area placed third in both wage appreciation and job growth, which was 5 percent in 2007. Companies like Novell, Micron Technology and Omniture lead the high-tech pack, while a multiplicity of smaller technology companies seal the area's ranking as a tech hot spot, DeVol said.

"One of the things you clearly see is more startup companies in the area," he said. "[Brigham Young University] has played a much greater role in commercialization efforts."

Rapid population growth in the area has also fueled development and provided ample talent for business endeavors, he said. People move in because there are jobs, and jobs are created in part because there is a skilled workforce from which to hire. That has spawned development in a variety of areas including software and health sciences, he said.

"Provo has the key ingredients to achieving long-term growth success," DeVol said. "It's been very broad-based growth overall. It's not just any one sector."

Provo Mayor Lewis Billings said the ranking is a reflection of the quality of local residents.

"It's certainly people, and it's a high quality of people," he said.

Other factors are the beauty of the natural environment and local educational centers like BYU and Utah Valley University. Billings also lauded the citywide fiber-optic iProvo network, which has suffered controversy since its inception several years ago, as a tool that draws high-tech businesses to the area.

"A lot of people enjoyed beating up on the iProvo decision," he said. "Today it would be very hard for us to score high on some of these kinds of scoring sheets if we didn't have the kind of broadband infrastructure that we have."

Orem's Mayor Jerry Washburn did not return a call for comment.

Raleigh-Cary, N.C., landed in the No. 2 spot and Salt Lake City rounded out Milken's top three this year, up from 18th last year, while Ogden-Clearfield rose from 42nd to Salt Lake's old spot, landing Utah's three largest metropolitan areas in the top 25.

The Institute has released an interactive online tool to explain the rankings and criteria in greater depth. It can be accessed at bestcities.milkeninstitute.org.

• Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or astryker@heraldextra.com.