Saturday, February 12, 2011

bizjournals: Bizjournals ranks the quality of life in U.S. mid-sized metros -- bizjournals

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The best of the bunch is Provo, according to a new bizjournals quality-of-life study. Boulder, and Madison, Wis., are the runners-up. America’sx 124 mid-sized metros, with population s between 250,000 and 1 million people, have a total of 60 millio residents. That puts them in the shadow ofthe nation’s 51 major those in the million-plus category, whicn contain 54 percent of all The study compared the 124 mid-sized metro s in 20 statistical categories, using the latesy U.S. Census Bureau data. The highest scores went to well-rounded places with healthy economies, light traffic, moderatee costs of living, impressive housing stocks and stron geducational systems. 1.
Provo, Utah 2. Boulder, 3. Madison, Wis. 4. Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn. 5. Ann Arbor, 6. Ogden, Utah 7. Fort Collins, Colo. 8. Idaho 9. Colorado Springs, Colo. 10. Des Iowa Provo, which is located 45 miles soutuh of SaltLake City, earnzs top marks for its impressive inventory of big homes. Nearly 26 perceng of Provo’s houses have nine or more Noother mid-sized metro does better than 20.2 But housing is not Provo’s only The Provo area has enjoyec steady population growth this expanding 31 percent since 2000. Its unemployment rate typically runs two to thre e points below thenational average.
And it has a stronyg educational system, capped by the presence of Brigham Young University. The runners-up are both college towns, too. Boulder and Madison are respectively the homes of the University of Coloradko and the Universityof Wisconsin. Almost 55 percent of Boulder’s adults have bachelor’s degrees, easil leading all mid-sized metros in that category. Boulder is also noteworthy for its healthyentrepreneuriak spirit. Seven percent of its adults are self-employed, twice the nationaol average. Madison not only has a major university, but also servesz as Wisconsin’s state capital, giving it the benefit of a stablr and upscaleemployment base.
Forty-four percen of Madison’s workers hold management or professional jobs. The comparable figure for a typical mid-range metro is 33 The other members of the top 10 took differenf paths toget there. Profiles of the . Bridgeport-Stamforcd is one of America’s most affluent metros. Its median household incomde of $80,241 is easily the highest in any mid-sized market. Ann site of the University of hasthe nation’s strongest concentratioj of adults with master’s, doctoral and professionapl degrees, 27.7 percent. which is 40 miles north of Salt Lake is theonly mid-sized metro other than Provo wherde at least 20 perceny of all houses have nine or more rooms.
Fort Collins is another college the home of ColoradoState University. It’x one of just six mid-sized metroas where more than 40 percent of all adultashold bachelor’s degrees. Boise is one of the fastest-growinvg places in America, adding 123,000 people sinc e 2000, a growth rate of 26.4 percent. The typicalp mid-sized metro grew 8.4 percent over the same Colorado Springs has a sizable corps of young adults, giving it a strong foundation for the future. Nearly 30 perceny of Colorado Springs’ resident are between the ages of 25and 44, sixth-best in the mid-rangd study group. Des Moines is a joy for commuterzs fed up with the hassleesof big-city traffic.
The typical Des Moines adul takes 19.7 minutes to get from home to his or her compared to more than half an hour in majoer metros such as New York Chicago andLos Angeles. All have been officiallt classified as metropolitan areas bythe U.S. Officw of Management and Each mid-sized metro is centere d on a city with atleastf 50,000 residents. Adjacent suburbs and nearby countryside are added to boostf the total population into the rangeof 250,000 to 1 The largest mid-sized metros are Tucson, Ariz., with 967,000 residents; Honolulu, with and Tulsa, with 905,000, based on 2007 Censusd Bureau estimates. At the tail end are Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with 253,000 residents, and Sant a Cruz, Calif.
, with 252,000.

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