April 26, 2004

The results of the Sixth Annual Inner City 100 were announced in Boston on April 12. The Inner City 100 lists the fastest-growing inner city companies in the country, and is sponsored by Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, Inc. Magazine and The United States Conference of Mayors. The top company in the 2004 list was 180s, a Baltimore-based company which manufactures innovative ear warmers, sunglasses, and gloves. Rounding out the top five were: IKANO Communications, Salt Lake City; Mosaica Education, New York; Tripwire, Portland; and CookTek, Chicago.

That same day, the cities with the most companies on the list were recognized at a City Awards luncheon sponsored by the Conference of Mayors, and kicked-off by Conference Vice President Akron Mayor Donald L. Plusquellic and Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran. Those cities recognized were: Boston, 6 companies; Chicago, 6 companies; Rochester, 5 companies; El Paso, 4 companies; and New York, 4 companies.

Rochester (NY) Mayor William A. Johnson was honored with the ICIC Mayoral Inner City Leadership Award for outstanding contributions to inner-city revitalization.

In addition to Johnson, Albany Mayor Gerald D. Jennings, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Lauderhill Mayor Richard J. Kaplan, Reading Mayor Tom McMahon, as well as senior city representatives from Detroit, El Paso, Newark, and New York City were recognized at the luncheon for their winning cities. "We are proud to top this year's list, and applaud the companies recognized on the Inner City 100 list. They play a vital role in the city's economy," said Menino.

"Our cities generate over 85 percent of the nation's economic output, jobs and labor income. We would like to thank the Inner City 100 for their strong support for our nation's cities, and for their continued commitment to keeping our nation's economy strong," Plusquellic told the audience.

"The Inner City 100 proves that companies know that cities truly are the best places to do business, and that they fuel the engines of our nation's economy," said Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, Chair of the Council for the New American City, of which ICIC is a member.

This year's list included companies from over 55 cities nationwide. Companies on the 2004 list showed an average annual growth rate of 872 percent for the five-year period of 1998-2002, up from last year's rate of 647 percent. Together, these companies have created almost 11,600 jobs in the last five years (see accompanying box for the complete list).

"The Inner City 100 really have a profound, broader impact," said ICIC founder and CEO, Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter. "We find that these companies pay higher than average wages. They disproportionately offer health care, retirement benefits, life insurance, and home ownership incentives. Some of them actually insist that their employees go back to school part-time as a condition of employment. I think it's not understood how powerful business is in addressing the social agenda."

Highlights of Inner City 100 company profiles include: 23 percent of the list is minority-owned and 13 percent is owned by women; 81 percent of business owners have considered expanding or relocating their company, but virtually all are considering doing so in an inner-city area; 50 percent of company employees live in the inner city; and close to a fifth of owners say they intend to sell all or part of their company to their employees.