LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas
Population: 197,706
Unemployment: 5.1 percent
New Project: 15,000-square-foot Argenta Innovation Center
Located at the center of the nation—residents call Little Rock where “America Comes Together”—the city is at the crossroads of Interstates 30 and 40, the latter being the most heavily traveled in the nation, putting it within 550 miles of 40 percent of Americans. Not surprisingly, the city has experienced unprecedented growth and development, nearly $1 billion since 1994 in the downtown area with another $175 million in progress and nearly $200 million of proposed projects on the way.