Northern Colorado ranked high in the nation and at the top for Colorado in the 2009 Best-Performing Cities index.

The index, produced annually by the Milken Institute and Greenstreet Real Estate Partners, scores metropolitan areas based on factors such as job growth and creation, gross domestic product and wages. The heaviest weight in the index is assigned to jobs.

The Greeley metro area came in at No. 20 out of the 200 largest cities in the nation -- the highest ranking in Colorado. Greeley had the same ranking in the 2008 list. It received an index score of 108.82 for five-year job growth (from 2003 to 2008), the 14th highest in the nation, but ranked 48th for job growth from March 2008 through March 2009.

Fort Collins-Loveland came in at No. 22 on the overall index, up from 48 in last year's report. The metro area ranked high for its high-tech gross domestic product at No. 24. Its lowest ranked indicator was five-year wage/salary growth, ranking No. 127 among the 200 largest cities.

The top metro area in the 2009 report was Austin-Round Rock, Texas. Other Colorado cities in the top half of the rankings were Boulder at No. 44, up from No. 95 last year; and Denver-Aurora at No. 55, down from 44th.