Ranked by Forbes in 2006 as The Nation's Best City for Business and Careers, Albuquerque is a metropolitan area of 800,000 people represented by Albuquerque Economic Development, Inc., a private, non-profit corporation providing confidential assistance to businesses considering the area for expansion and new investment

MovieMaker magazine has named Albuquerque the No. 4 best American city for making movies in its Winter 2007 edition. The list, which has been created for seven years, ranks New York City, Philadelphia and Austin ahead of Albuquerque in the current month's edition. All those cities have appeared on the list before -- it is Albuquerque's first year to be named.

The article about Albuquerque's film business cites the city's sunny climate, the state's film incentive package and the construction of Albuquerque Studios and its eight sound stages as major factors in making the city a hot spot for filming.

Behind Albuquerque on the list are No. 5 Las Vegas, Nev., previously unlisted; No. 6 Shreveport, La., previously unlisted; No. 7 Memphis, Tenn., which rose from the No. 10 spot on last year's list; No. 8 Miami, dipping by one notch from No. 7 last year; No. 9 Portland, Ore., which dropped from third place; and Salt Lake City, also previously unranked. The magazine says the absence of Los Angeles from the list is not a mistake, but a deliberate choice made after interviews and research for the list.

• 8th City for jobs increase at 59%
• #2 as Favorite Art Destination
• #10 Fittest City (Men’s Fitness Magazine)
• Best Community for Young People (Newsweek-Oct.)
• #5 Real Estate Market (Fox Business News)
• #20 Job Growth and High Tech Output (Business Development Magazine-Feb.)
• #11 Best City for Relocating Families (Employee Relocation Council-May)
• #5 Best Metro City Overall (Forbes-May)
• 4th Lowest City for Purchase Costs (Expansion Management-Aug.)