Well, according to Marketwatch.com - THREE Valley cities are among the worst places in the country for business.

Bakersfield comes in at #93 on the Marketwatch list, followed by Stockton at #98 and Fresno at #100!

Here's how they summarize our home town:

100. Fresno, Calif. --  Fresno completes a troika of San Joaquin Valley cities to make the bottom 10, but its relatively remote location puts it in an even worse position than either Bakersfield or Stockton.

Fresno can't benefit from a commuter economy, like Stockton or Bakersfield; it's more than three hours away from either San Francisco or Los Angeles. Further, it relies heavily on agriculture for its economy, and little else.

Like many cities in the bottom 10, Fresno is home to no Fortune, Forbes, S&P or Russell companies. But it's larger than most other cities in that same boat, and so it gets a lower score when it comes to those metrics. It also ranked low on the number of business as measured by the Census Bureau.

Fresno is, however, a growing region. It ranks in the top third in population growth and is near the top fourth in real GDP growth, without the benefit of a much larger economy nearby. And it was in the middle of the pack in retaining jobs during the recession.

The question is whether it can start to attract new businesses.

"Fresno's always been kind of its own little beast," said Beacon Ecomonics' Thornberg. "I don't have anything good to tell you about Fresno -- or bad."

Your thoughts?  Did Marketwatch get it right?  Is Fresno really such a miserable place for business?  Or are they totally off the mark? 

Some things perhaps Marketwatch didn't take into account:  The cost-of-living in Fresno is one of the lowest in California!  Homes mortgages and apartment rents are extremely affordable, compared with the rest of the state.  We have non-stop airline service to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Denver, Dallas and Seattle.  The money I save by living here, allows me to see the world!  (I travel a lot!)  All that's not business friendly?  Hmmmm.  Agree?  

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