The Pensacola area ranked 17 out of 20 on Inc. magazine's list of "Top Midsize Cities" in its annual survey of the nation's boomtowns.

Financial services, business services and transportation were identified as Pensacola's hotbed of job growth. The Pensacola area achieved its ranking by having a one-year job growth of 2.7 percent and a five-year job growth of 11.1 percent. The rankings story appears in the magazine's May issue.

"I think this ranking is indicative of Pensacola's business climate," said Charles Wood, senior vice president of economic development at the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce.

Six of the top 20 mid-size cities in the ranking are from Florida. Mid-size cities have employment bases in the 150,000 to 450,000 range.

Topping the mid-size-city list is Cape Coral-Fort Myers with a 32.3 percent job growth in the past five years. Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin ranked 13 in the top 20 small cities or cities with an employment base of less than 150,000.

Pensacola finished 65th among all U.S. cities, up six spots from last year. It is one of 18 Florida communities on the top 100 list.

Pensacola finished ahead of Tallahassee, which ranked 123, and Mobile which ranked 179.