Coeur d’Alene makes list of top cities for entrepreneurs

Coeur d’Alene ranked No. 5 on Inc. magazine’s 2006 list of hottest cities for entrepreneurs.

“For several years now, the nation’s entrepreneurial hotbeds from the major urban centers to smaller cities on the periphery,” the article said. “…The rise of these small communities is the most important trend emerging from this year’s survey of the nation’s hottest places to do business.”

Yuma, Ariz., ranked No.1 on the list. Also named: St. George, Utah, No. 2; Bellingham, Wash., No. 6; and Idaho Falls, No. 10.

Spokane ranked No. 141.

To compile the rankings, Inc. measured current-year employment growth, as well as average annual job growth over the past three years.

Over the last several years, Kootenai County has added jobs across a wide range of industries. Unemployment rates hit a historic low of 3.5 percent last month.