The Milken Foundation delivered the bad news:

Kentucky cities’ showing has slipped in this year’s “Best Performing Cities” index.

The index measures which cities are the most successful at job creation and retention and demonstrate the best overall economic performance.

It is compiled by The Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank, and Greenstreet Real Estate Partners, an investment and asset management company.

It ranks cities based on measures such as job growth, wage growth, high-tech output and population growth.

In the large city category, Louisville ranked No. 169 out of 200 cities. The city’s ranking in the last index, in 2005, was No. 151. Louisville’s best performance was in one-year job growth, ranking No. 107, and its worst was in high-tech output, ranking No. 169.

Lexington fell to No. 129 this year from No. 97 in 2005.

In the small city category, which ranked 179 cities, Bowling Green fell to No. 46 from No. 36 two years ago.

Owensboro fell to No. 153 this year from No. 126 in 2005.

The best-performing large city was Ocala, Fla., which owes its position to a robust housing market and consistent growth rankings in categories such as wages, job creation and high-tech output, according to the study.

The best-performing small city was Bend, Ore., which has experienced a 23.4 percent population increase during the past five years, outpacing the rest of the nation.

I don’t generally like rankings, but when you’re the 50th largest city and you rank near the bottom of a list of 200 cities for job creation and retention, there is something wrong.