Thanks to the Silicon Forest, Portland Is the Best City in the U.S. for Careers and Business, According to Forbes

Portland is now ranked the no. 1 city in the country on Forbes' annual list of the Best Places for Business and Careers, up from fifth place last year.

Forbes points to Portland's high gross metro product, rising household incomes, low unemployment rate and prevalence of tech jobs and tech corporations, along with a high concentration of highly educated millennial workers, as reasons for its top ranking.

The article also points to the 36 universities within 150 miles of the city, as well as the numerous STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) jobs in Portland, also called the "Silicon Forest," which make up 7.2 percent of jobs here, compared to the 5.8 percent national average.

The article states that household income is up 4 percent annually since 2011 and unemployment has fallen below 4 percent, down from its peak of 11.3 percent in 2009. We also have the ninth-highest concentration of highly educated millennials and a $157 billion economy.

Related: New Census Data Show Oregon is Booming, But Big Income Disparities Persist

Forbes looked at the largest 200 cities in the U.S. and created the rankings based on 14 metrics, including income growth, education of the work force and quality of life. Portland finished in the top quartile for every metric, except for business and living costs.

Here's the top 10:

1. Portland, Ore.
2. Raleigh, N.C.
3. Seattle, Wash.
4. Denver, Colo.
5. Des Moines, Iowa
6. Provo, Utah
7. Charlotte, N.C.
8. Austin, Tex.
9. Atlanta, Ga.
10. Dallas, Tex.

And here are bottom 10:

191. Gulfport, Miss.
192. Fort Smith, Ark.
193. Flint, Mich.
194. Shreveport, La:
195. Bakersville, Calif.
196. Huntington, W.V.
197. Visalia, Calif.
198. Columbus, Ga.
199. Merced, Calif.
200. Atlantic City, N.J.