In 1995, the gross metropolitan product, or total value of all goods and services produced in the area, was $2.5 billion. That figure climbed to $5.3 billion in 2005, the report found.

“I think it goes to show that we have sustainable growth,” Ann Driggers, president and CEO of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership, said Thursday.

The estimate for the Grand Junction area in 2006 calls for its gross metropolitan product to increase to $5.8 billion, for a projected growth rate of 9.4 percent. The gross metropolitan product is forecast to rise to $6.3 billion in 2007.

Of the 361 metropolitan statistical areas ranked in the report, the St. George, Utah, region was atop the list with an average annual growth rate of 10.7 percent from 1995-2005.

Naples-Marco Island, Fla., ranked second in the period with an annual growth rate of 10.1 percent. The Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., area rounded out the top three with a growth rate of 9.5 percent.

Of note, the only other Colorado community to rank in the top 20 for the 1995-2005 period was Greeley at 17th, with a 7.8 percent average annual rate, the report found. The Fort Collins-Loveland area ranked 27th, with a growth rate of 7.3 percent in the period.

Global Insight, a Massachusetts-based economic and financial analysis firm, produced the report for the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The report was released last month.

Wyatt Haupt Jr. can be reached via e-mail at whaupt@gjds.com.