Which Nevada city made list of America’s top 50 — and which didn’t

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 | 10:45 a.m.

Reno. Las Vegas.

Guess which one didn’t make businessweek.com's list of America’s top 50 cities?

Yep, it was Vegas.

Sin City failed to make the business news organizations’s list, which was bookended by San Francisco at No. 1 and Los Angeles at No. 50. The rankings were based on leisure opportunities, educational attributes, economic factors, crime statistics and air quality ratings.

Rounding out the top 10 were Seattle, Washington, D.C., Boston, Portland, Ore., Denver, New York, Austin, Texas, San Diego and St. Paul, Minn.

Reno drew a No. 42 ranking.

Here’s what the list’s creators had to say about it:

“Known for its mining and casinos, Reno lately has struggled to park patrons in the seats of slot machines; its 11.7 percent unemployment rate is the highest on this list. The city has worked to reinvent itself through an unlikely pastime: bowling. Reno lays claim to featuring the only bowling stadium of its kind in the world, with 78 championship lanes for its tournaments.”

So what do you think? Is Vegas worthy of Top 50 status — or at least more worthy than such cities as Lincoln, Neb. (No. 34), Anchorage, Alaska (No. 49), Milwaukee (No. 26) and Reno (and its many bowling lanes)?