"The Olympia metropolitan area ranks as one of the top places in the country for business and careers, according to a new Forbes magazine study.

Michael Cade, executive director of the Economic Development Council of Thurston County, said the finding could help the EDC promote South Sound growth.

“Our mission is to promote the area as a place to invest,” Cade said. “This certainly makes it easier.”

The study ranks Olympia 10th out of the 200 largest metropolitan areas in the country. The Olympia metro area, which comprises all of Thurston County with its population of 233,000, ranked high because of its 2 percent population growth — twice the national average — and growth in jobs and income in the past five years, according to the study," quoting The Olympian.