NEW YORK, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc.com, the online arm of Inc. magazine today announced its annual ranking of the 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the country. The list is the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy -- America's independent-minded entrepreneurs.

The 5000 companies that made the list reported aggregate revenue of $185 billion and median three-year growth of 147 percent. Most important, the 2008 Inc. 5000 companies were engines of job growth, having created more than 826,033 jobs since those companies were founded. Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and a list of the fastest-growing companies that can be sorted by industry and region can be found at www.inc5000.com.

"Our second annual Inc. 5000 continues the most ambitious project in business journalism," said Inc. 5000 Project Manager Jim Melloan. "The Inc. 5000 gives an unrivalled portrait of young, underreported companies across all industries doing fascinating things with cutting-edge business models, as well as older companies that are still showing impressive growth."

Hottest Regions for Fastest-Growing Companies

The New York metro area tops the Inc. 5000 list with the most companies of any city with 355. Washington, D.C. comes in a close second with 300 companies on the list; Los Angeles comes in third with 244 companies, and Atlanta (194 companies) and Chicago (189 companies) round out the top five. Interestingly, only 62 companies on the Inc. 5000 are not based in metropolitan areas.

Grand Rapids, Mich. leads the list with the highest median revenue of any metro area ($26.2 million, 16 companies), followed by San Antonio, Texas ($21.3 million, 25 companies), Baton Rouge, La. ($18.8 million, 14 companies), Houston ($17.1 million, 97 companies), and Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. ($16.5 million, 39 companies).

Hottest Industries for Fastest-Growing Businesses

The most notable median growth categories among the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing businesses are in the Energy category (which grew by 298%), followed by Government Services (which grew by 220%), Security (200% growth), IT Services and Software (both grew by 187%), and Consulting (which grew by 182% on average).

The largest business category is IT Services, with 579 Inc. 5000 companies. Business Services (532 companies), Construction (459), Manufacturing (405), and Advertising & Marketing (361) complete the top five industries ranked on the 2008 Inc. 5000.

Industries reporting the highest median revenue are Travel ($38.8 million), Financial Services ($16.3 million), Logistics ($15.4 million) Government Services ($14.2 million), and Energy ($14.2 million).

The Inc. 5000 list tends to capture larger, more mature companies, some with revenues well into the billions. In fact, this year's list includes the largest company ever to make an Inc. 500 or Inc. 5000 list, the global construction firm CH2M Hill, with $5.8 billion in 2007 revenue. Among many other things, CH2M Hill is helping build MasdarCity, the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, in Abu Dhabi. The chart below highlights some of the Inc. 5000's biggest players.

    Top 10 Inc. 5,000 Companies Ranked by Gross Dollars of Growth:


    Rank      Company             Location    Gross $    2008   Industry
                                              Growth    Growth
                                                          %


    No. 3691  CH2M HILL           Englewood,  $2.7      85.15%  Construction
                                  CO          billion
    No. 3727  KingstonTechnology  Fountain    $2.1      83.67%  Computers &
                                  Valley, CA  billion           Electronics
    No. 3150  Brightstar          Miami, FL   $1.9     109.88%  Telecommun-
                                              billion           ications
    No. 32    VIZIO               Irvine, CA  $1.8    4056.86%  Computers &
                                              billion           Electronics
    No. 2582  CoBank              Greenwood,  $1.6     141.40%  Financial
                                  CO          billion           Services
    No. 4762  Visa                San         $1.2      47.80%  Financial
                                  Francisco,  billion           Services
                                  CA
    No. 3429  Mortenson           Minne-      $1.0      96.73%  Construction
              Construction        apolis, MN  billion
    No. 4320  JE Dunn             Kansas      $1.0      62.26%  Construction
              Construction Group  City, MO    billion
    No. 4247  Petters Group       Minnetonka, $9.0      64.29%  Financial
              Worldwide           MN          million           Services
    No. 4335  Express Employment  Oklahoma,   $7.3      61.75%  Human
              Professionals       OK          million           Resources




    Top 10 Inc. 5000 Companies Ranked by Revenue:

    Rank      Company             Location              2007      Industry
                                                       Revenue

    No. 3691  CH2M Hill           Englewood, CO        $5.8       Construction
                                                       billion
    No. 3727  KingstonTechnology  Fountain Valley, CA  $4.5       Computers &
                                                       billion    Electronics
    No. 3150  Brightstar          Miami, FL            $3.7       Telecommun-
                                                       billion    ications
    No. 4672  Visa                San Francisco, CA    $3.59      Financial
                                                       billion    Services
    No. 2582  CoBank              Greenwood Village,   $2.8       Financial
                                  CO                   billion    Services
    No. 4320  JE Dunn             Kansas City, MO      $2.6       Construction
              Construction Group                       billion
    No. 4247  Petters Group       Minnetonka, MN       $2.3       Financial
              Worldwide                                billion    Services
    No. 3429  Mortenson           Minneapolis, MN      $2.1       Construction
              Construction                             billion
    No. 32    VIZIO               Irvine, CA           $1.9       Computers &
                                                       billion    Electronics
    No. 4335  Express Employment  Oklahoma City, OK    $1.9       Human
              Professionals                            billion    Resources

Methodology

The 2008 Inc. 5000 list measures revenue growth from 2004 through 2007. To qualify, companies must be U.S.-based and privately held, independent -- not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies -- as of December 31, 2007, and have had at least $200,000 in revenue in 2004, and $2 million in 2007.

Companies can apply for next year's Inc. 5000 by registering with "IncBizNet, Business Network for Private Companies", at www.incbiznet.com.

About Inc.com

Inc.com, the daily resource for entrepreneurs, delivers how-to guides, advice, tools, breaking news, and rich multi-media to help business owners and CEOs start, run, and grow their businesses. Inc.com offers dynamic marketing solutions to help advertisers effectively reach Inc.com's audience of business leaders. Visit http://www.inc.com.

About Inc. 500|Inc. 5000 Conference

Each year, Inc. magazine and Inc.com celebrate the remarkable achievements of today's entrepreneurial superstars -- the privately held small businesses that drive our economy. The Inc. 500|Inc. 5000 Conference brings together members of the Inc. 5000 community -- both a new class of Inc. 5000 honorees and the list's alumni -- for three days of powerful networking, inspired learning, and momentous celebration. For the first time ever, this powerful networking event is open to all. Please join us September 18-20, 2008 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Washington, D.C. For more information or to register, visit www.Inc500Conference.com or call us at 877-211-0489.

SOURCE Inc.com