Scott McDonald is the owner and president of Scott McDonald & Associates, a firm that specializes in demographic research for doctors and dentists (including specialists).

This month, Scott released his annual list of best places to practice. Scott evaluates sites based on:

  1. Growth in population, employment, and economic outlook.
  2. Economic health and stability.
  3. Long term employment diversity – how many different industries are represented in the region?
  4. Reasonable state and local regulations.

In reverse order, Scott believes that the best places to place a practice in 2016 are:

  1. Nevada
  2. Arizona
  3. Florida
  4. Georgia
  5. Tennessee
  6. Washington
  7. Idaho
  8. S. Carolina
  9. Utah
  10. Indiana

Three states that did not make the list but show promise are Arkansas (Jonesboro), Colorado (N. of Denver), and Ohio (around Youngstown and Greater Columbus).