The 2014 Good Growth for Cities index, produced by business advisers PwC and think tank Demos, ranked Milton Keynes 14th out of the 39 UK cities analysed.
The index uses a wider range of measures than GDP alone, capturing the characteristics of cities which the UK public consider important for judging medium- to long-term economic success.
Milton Keynes is above the UK average in the overall index as well as in the income, health, owner-occupied housing and environment categories and is in line with the UK average for jobs, transport and skills.
Its performance in work-life balance, the sectoral balance of its economy, house price to earnings and income distribution fared less well.
Mike Robinson, senior office partner at PwC in Milton Keynes, said: “While it is good to see that Milton Keynes is ranked highly, for the city to improve its good growth index scores, we must develop the skills required to support a broad business base and address transport and housing challenges, especially with public funds in short supply.
“The challenge is to identify how best to unlock the potential of the city – the engines of sustainable growth – by investing in the assets and enablers that businesses require to succeed and grow over the long-term, including skills, infrastructure and innovation.
“This in turn could be helped by achieving a greater degree of decentralisation, with stronger local decision-making and incentives to deliver the potential of places across the region.”
