TAMPA, Florida
Population: 352,957
Unemployment: 5.3 percent
Top University: University of South Florida
USF not only has one of the largest enrollments in the country but its 104 patents awarded ranked 10th in the nation—besting the likes of Harvard and Penn—aided by numerous incubators such as the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, Tampa Bay Technology Forum and USF Connect. The city’s school system received a $100 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to implement reform initiatives that will be a model for the rest of the country. n