Standard & Poor's: credit quality strong in fastest-growing cities.

• Position: News & Numbers

The 50 U.S. cities with the fastest-growing populations between 2000 and 2004 have above-average credit quality, according to a report by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. The rating agency reports that most of these cities have managed their growth and related debt needs well.

The ratings of the 50 fastest-growing cities are more concentrated in the higher categories of "AAA" and "AA" than the municipalities rated by Standard & Poor's, and they all have a stable rating. Seventeen percent of the top 50 carry AAA ratings, 44 percent have AA ratings, and 39 percent have A ratings. The distribution for all of Standard & Poor's-rated municipalities is much lower, with 4.1 percent in the AAA category, 32 percent in the AA category, 48.7 percent in the A category, and 15 percent in the BBB category.

The 4.3 percent average annual population growth rate in the 50 fastest-growing cities is a good indicator of economic vibrancy and is typically associated with strong growth in...