YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Youngstown area tops two national lists for economic development and healthcare access according to thee Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber.

The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research named the Youngstown-Warren Metro area 10th among the 100 largest MSA’s in the U.S. for economic performance from 2009-2012 in its June 2014 report, “America’s Top Metros: Who’s Leading the Recovery and Why.”

Also, a report released in July by Smartasset.com ranked Youngstown the number one city in the U.S. in its list of the “10 Best Cities for Healthcare Access for Your Money.”

The Manhattan Institute ranked metro areas by growth in economic output (GDP), personal income and jobs. Youngstown-Warren was sixth in per-capita GDP growth, 16th in per-capita personal income growth and 36th in private-sector employment growth. The region was the top-ranked Ohio large metro area, just ahead of Columbus and Toledo.

Smartaccess.com said this in ranking Youngstown number one for healthcare access for the money:

“Although former steel town Youngstown only has a slightly above-average ratio of physicians to the population at large, its abundance of hospital space and lower-cost homes than most of the country means every dollar pays for significantly more access to healthcare than the nearest runner-up. It seems to be easier for a smallish city like Youngstown (population about 67,000) to sustain a healthcare infrastructure than a much larger one. Youngstown also benefits from the presence of Youngstown State University, a relatively large state college with 15,000 students, to provide nurses, lab techs and other trained health workers to support its doctors.”

Smartaccess.com ranked cities by adding the number of primary care physicians and hospital beds per 100,000 people (gathered from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care), and divided that by the median home sales price in thousands of dollars in that city. This gave them an average measure of healthcare access per $1,000 of home price.

In the last two years, the Youngstown-Warren area has made a number of other top 10 lists:

• The National Association of Realtors listed the Youngstown-Warren area as having the lowest median existing home prices in the U.S., according to their first quarter 2014 metro area housing report.

• Forbes Magazine, in April, named the Youngstown-Warren Metro Area the fifth-best in the country for raising a family, noting the area has a low cost of living, short commutes, and solid school and crime statistics outside the city proper.

• The Youngstown/Warren Metro Area made Site Selection’s Top Ten economic development list for metro areas with populations of 200,000 to 1 million, ranking eighth with 22 new and expanded facilities in 2013.

• The Youngstown/Warren Metro Area was the ninth least expensive urban area in the U.S. of 302 metro areas, according to the 2014 Cost of Living Index released by The Council for Community and Economic Research. Youngstown-Warren also was the least expensive urban area in Ohio.

• The Youngstown/Warren Metro area made the 2013 top 10 cities list for frugal retirees compiled by MoneyRates.com.

• The Youngstown/Warren Metro was number one in the USA in export growth percentage from 2009-2012, according to a study by the Brookings Institution.

• Business Facilities Magazine, a publication for corporate site selectors, ranked the Youngstown-Warren Metro area sixth in the Economic Growth Potential category among U.S. metro areas with less than 450,000 employment.

• Lifegoesstrong.com in May 2013 ranked the Youngstown-Warren Metro area fourth on a recent list of best retirement spots for baby boomers.

Tom Humphries, president & CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, said the two positive national rankings continue to show the strides being made in the Mahoning Valley on all fronts, particularly in the economic development and quality of life areas.

“It’s been pretty incredible to see the turnaround that our Valley has experienced in recent years after so many years when we were often the butt of national jokes and the doormat when looking at economic growth and quality of life.