Gadsden among top small U.S. cities

Gadsden has been named by Area Development Magazine as one of the top small cities in the U.S.  Mayor Sherman Guyton said Wednesday that  Gadsden was ranked No. 2 among Alabama small cities in the magazine's Leading Locations survey from 2012, the most recent for which a full report is available. The survey ranked 365 metropolitan statistical areas, combining numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census American Community Survey.  Guyton said that Gadsden was named as one of the Top 50 (small) cities in the United States, ranked No. 41.  Guyton said Florence, Gadsden and Tuscaloosa were the only Alabama cities to be named among the Top 20 Southern small cities.  Gadsden ranked No. 7 in the state in the prime workforce growth category   No. 2 in Alabama in economic strength factor and ranked No. 1 among Alabama MSAs in recession-busting factors.