Boston’s talent pool is second to none, according to a new ranking released by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber’s “Global Talent Index,� released Tuesday, rated 30 U.S. and international cities based on university academic performance, college degree holders and number of patents granted to holders in the area.
Boston earned the top overall rating; in individual categories it placed second to London in university academic performance, fifth in college degrees behind Oslo
, Washington D.C., London, and San Francisco, and fourth in patents.
“Of all the factors driving economic growth, none is more important than talent,� said Paul Guzzi, the chief executive of the Boston Chamber, which represents about 1,500 local businesses. “We are pleased that the results reinforce Greater Boston’s leadership in this area, driven in large part by our world-class institutions of higher education. Yet we must do more to retain talent, encourage investment in leading-edge research, and strengthen our position as a source of patents and intellectual property.�
The Chamber also outlined a series of proposals it said would help reinforce Boston’s position, including calling for the state to give matching grants to university research initiatives. It also said businesses should grow internship programs, that the government should relax immigration policy to let foreign students stay after graduation, and that the state should try to secure a local satellite office of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to speed processing of patents from Boston-area companies.
Data for the index came from the U.S. Census Bureau, Eurostat, U.S. Patent Office, QS Top Universities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Center for World Class Universities, and others.
Dan Adams can be reached at dadams@globe.com and on Twitter at @DanielAdams86.