Best places for business

Looking for the right place to open a store or set up a company? Better look outside California, judging by Inc.com’s annual ranking of the best cities for doing business.

The top cities in this year’s list are Midland, Texas; St. George, Utah; and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. California isn’t represented until Bakersfield comes in at the No. 38 spot.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area ranks No. 274 (out of 335) -- a slight improvement over last year’s 283. Last place goes to Michigan’s Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn area.

At the website, you can slice the rankings to show cities grouped by size or state.

The rankings are based on a formula that looks at short- and long-term employment growth rates.

-- Scott J. Wilson