The Most Innovative Cities in America

Six American cities are among the most innovative in the world, according to a report published Monday by 2ThinkNow, an innovation research firm. The US has the most cities considered top-tier innovators.

The report catalogs the world’s largest cities and ranks them by their ability to generate ideas. In order for a city to be innovative, 2ThinkNow found it should be culturally rich, have a large education, research and development base, as well as be networked with other markets.

Read: The Most Innovative Cities In America

In order to reflect the impact of innovation, we looked at filings from the US Patent and Trademark Office and tallied the number of patents originating in each city. Innovative cities produce among the most patents in the country.

According to the report, an innovative city must have “cultural assets,” which include “music, sports, languages and includes practical measurement of sports stadiums, art galleries, museums, walkability, and bicycle friendly neighbourhoods.” “Cultural Asset cities are ready for design-led innovation, and they are places you go to inspire and design new ideas. They are part of the idea stage of innovation.” American cities like New York and European cities like Vienna and Paris rank very high in this category.

Second, a city must have “human infrastructure,” meaning universities and businesses that specialize in research and development. This is, according to the study, because this helps with the development of ideas. Boston and San Francisco are perfect examples of cities with a high level of this kind of infrastructure. This is “largely because they balance start-ups, mid-size firms and corporations.”

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Finally, cities must have “networked markets,” meaning they are able to share those ideas with the rest of the world. This usually comes in the form of physical trade or digital communication. New York City, which receives the highest score in this category, is one of the most globally connected metropolitan regions in the world due in part its global financial exchanges. Los Angeles and Philadelphia also score high in this category.

These are the Most Innovative Cities in America.

6. Philadelphia, Penn.
>Innovation index: 25
>Cultural assets: 7/10
>Human infrastructure: 9/10
>Networked markets: 9/10
>Patents granted: 2,102 (14th most in U.S.)

The city of brotherly love has improved its scores in each of the past two years in human infrastructure and networked markets, now scoring 9 out of 10 in both. The high score in human infrastructure is due to the city’s large biotechnology and financial sectors, as well as the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Philadelphia is also a sizable port city, which raises its levels of connectivity with the rest of the world.  this was the first year, Philadelphia made the list.

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5. Los Angeles, Calif.
>Innovation index: 25
>Cultural assets: 8/10
>Human infrastructure: 8/10
>Networked markets: 9/10
>Patents granted: 4,992 (4th most)

More than any other city on this list, Los Angeles has gone from having only average levels of innovation to being the fifth most innovative in the U.S. LA also rose from being ranked 69th in the world last year; it is now ranked 25th. The number of patents originated in the city have increased by nearly 50% since 2008. As for being networked, Los Angeles has the biggest container port in the U.S. LA is also listed by 2ThinkNow as one of the cities on the cusp of improving next year in at least one major category.

4. Seattle, Wa.
>Innovation index: 25
>Cultural assets: 8/10
>Human infrastructure: 9/10
>Networked markets: 8/10
>Patents granted: 4,052 (6th most)

Size is often a determining factor for a major city to become a nexus of innovation. Cities with the largest populations have an easier time creating new ideas simply because they have more people. However, some cities, including Seattle, manage to overcome their smaller size by having a high level of innovation-generating infrastructure. The Seattle metropolitan area is just the 13th largest in the U.S., yet it is the fourth most innovative in the country. More than 4,000 patents originated in Seattle last year — 6th most in the country — thanks to the presence of major tech-heavy companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN).

3. New York, N.Y.
>Innovation index: 29
>Cultural assets: 10/10
>Human infrastructure: 9/10
>Networked markets: 10/10
>Patents granted: 6,383 (2nd most)

New York is the biggest city in the country, and so has an advantage in innovation over the others because of its sheer size. The city is truly a pinnacle of culture, according to the report. New York is just one of three cities awarded the highest score for cultural assets, joining Paris and Vienna. 2ThinkNow states: “[T]his is largely due to the sheer numbers of museums, arts, cultural, architecture, designers, food options and other destination assets.” The city also received the highest score for networked markets because of its world leading financial exchanges and global connectivity.

2. San Francisco Bay Area, Calif.
>Innovation index: 29
>Cultural assets: 9/10
>Human infrastructure: 10/10
>Networked markets: 10/10
>Patents generated: 16,364 (the most)

The San Francisco Bay Area, which Includes San Francisco, Oakland, Fremont and San Jose, is the second most innovative region in the U.S. and the world. The bay area received a perfect score for human infrastructure, due in large part to the presence of the technology generating silicon valley, as well as sizable biotech sector. In 2010, more than 16,300 patents originated in the San Jose and San Francisco areas — nearly triple the next highest region, New York City. San Francisco also has the highest score for its networked markets, due to its strong digital connections with Asia and its role as a trade route.

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1. Boston, Mass.
>Innovation index: 29
>Cultural assets: 9/10
>Human infrastructure: 10/10
>Networked markets: 10/10
>Patents generated: 4,330 (5th most)

The Boston metropolitan area is not just the fifth largest in the U.S..  According to the study, it is also the most innovative city, not only in the U.S. but also in the world. Boston is the standard by which all other innovative cities are compared. According to 2ThinkNow representative Christoper Hire, Boston scores a 10 “largely because they balance start-ups, mid-size firms and corporations. They also have multiple transport options, and links to manufacturing and diverse industry (as well as technology).” The region is home to more top-level universities than any place in the world, including Harvard, Tufts and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Michael B. Sauter