Two reports today present sharply contrasting views of the Puget Sound region’s economy and prospects.

In the New York Times, Harvard economist Edward L. Glaeser sings Seattle’s praises.

Seattle is one of the few large cities outside the Sun Belt that is growing more quickly than the country as a whole. The city’s growth reveals the benefits of concentrating smart people in dense cities.

Glaeser contrasts Seattle with Rust Belt cities like Detroit, highlighting the transformation of the region with the burst of smart innovation and entrepreneurial activity.

Almost since its inception, Seattle has been committed to education and has benefited from the University of Washington, which is based there. Skills are the source of Seattle’s strength.

…The ability to attract skilled people was intimately tied to the success of Seattle’s star companies, such as Amazon; Nordstrom’s, whose strategy of empowering employees was more feasible because those workers were skilled; Starbucks, a coffee chain founded by educators; and Microsoft, which depends on a steady supply of smart software engineers.

Most of us would agree with his core premise. Then along comes this report in the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Of the nation’s 15 largest cities, Seattle ranks behind only Philadelphia and is the second-worst city in the nation for entrepreneurial activity, according to a new report.

There are only 220 entrepreneurs for every 100,000 people in Seattle, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, published by the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, Mo.