College Station will be a national and state leader in job growth among similarly-sized cities through 2012, according to Forbes magazine.

Forbes ranks College Station No. 5 in projected job growth with an annual increase of 2.9 percent in the next three years. The area ranks No. 1 in Texas among metropolitan areas of fewer than 245,000 people.

The job growth ranking lifts College Station to No. 1 in Texas and No. 20 nationally in the magazine’s annual listing of the “Best Small Places for Business and Careers.”

"Forbes has substantiated and reinforced the fact that College Station will continue to be one of the best places in the country to live, work and build a career," College Station Director of Economic and Community Development David Gwin said.

The rankings were based on business and living costs, past and projected job growth, income growth, educational attainment, projected economic growth, crime, net migration patterns and cultural and recreational opportunities. Forbes also factored in the percentage of subprime mortgages handed out over a three-year stretch and the number of highly-ranked four-year colleges in the area.