Colorado Springs Rankings (Best / Top lists) (Denver, Air Force Academy: best cities, sales, real estate market)

[TheTomness]

For bragging rights and to show, people looking to move to COS, what we've been recognized for having nationally.
I've only put rankings from 2009 until recent, there's more here: From http://www.coloradosprings.org/doc/Rankings.pdf
If you know another site with more rankings feel free to post them, besides the //www.city-data.com/city/Colora...-Colorado.html rankings which are all based on the top 101 this and that.

To keep the thread alive, what are some rankings you think are debatable or right on.


2010 Rankings


2nd “Pet Friendly Cities: America's Best Places to Live with Pets” by
Livability.com. Rankings were based on cities with pet friendly parks and trails, quality veterinary care,
active animal welfare groups, as well as an abundance of pet boutiques and retail shops. These cities also
had to offer an exceptionally high quality of life for the owners who love those pets. From quality
healthcare and higher education to diverse job opportunities and active artistic and cultural scenes, these
cities are some of the best places to work, live and play in America. (10/10)

4th best drivers according to the “Allstate America’s Best Drivers ReportTM"
which ranked America's 200 largest cities in terms of car collision frequency to identify which cities have
the safest drivers. (09/10)

4th Fittest City by Gallup. Gallup's telephone survey, which was conducted
between December 29, 2009 and January 2, 2010, calculated average body mass index based on the
heights and weights the respondents provided. The study also recorded information of health habits such
as eating, exercise and access to health insurance. (03/10)

6th “Most Wired City” by Forbes.com. The study was compiled by computing
the percentage of Internet users with high-speed connections in a particular city and the number of
companies providing high-speed Internet in that area. (03/10)

6th on Forbes.com “America's Best Housing Markets For Investors”. The rankings
were based on populations over 400,000 with a variety of factors, including historic population growth,
job growth, housing price changes and the mix of jobs in an area. (09/10)

7th “Best Mid-Size City” by Portfolio.com. The study was ranked on healthy
economies, moderate living costs, light traffic and strong educational systems. Portfolio.com compared
109 medium-sized markets with populations between 250,000 and 750,000. (06/10)

8th “Safest City for Children” according to Men's Health Magazine. The study
was based on accidental death rates for kids ages 5 to 14, number of car-seat inspection locations per
child, sex offenders per capita, percentage of abused children protected from further abuse, and the
strength of child-restraint laws and bike-helmet laws. (08/10)

10th for “Best Teeth” by Men's Health Magazine. The survey was based on
community water fluoridation; the percentage of people who saw a dentist in the past year or have had
their teeth extracted; the percentage of households using dental floss; money spent on oral hygiene
products; and the number of dentist offices per capita. (10/10)

12th best place for business and careers according to Forbes.com. The annual
rankings are based on factors such as cost of doing business, job growth, education attainment and
population. (04/10)

14th Safest City in America by FreeBackgroundChecksUSA.com. The survey
included comparing crime occurrences, such as violent crime; robbery; aggravated assault; larceny-theft;
and motor vehicle theft; to the population of each area. (12/10)

15th brainiest city by Portfolio.com. The study assigned point values to five
rungs of an educational ladder, ranging from high-school dropouts to holders of advanced degrees. The
score for a given market depended on the percentage of adult residents (25 or older) on each rung. The
higher the score, the stronger a market’s collective brainpower. (12/10)

17th among mid-size cities readers of AmericanStyle magazine’s annual Top 25
Arts Destination poll. A lifestyle publication for arts enthusiasts, collectors and travelers, recognizes the
power of the arts in promoting economic development and community revitalization. Through the poll,
readers tell where they’ve been going to view, enjoy and shop for great art. (10/10)

18th Friendliest Bike City in America by Bicycling magazine. Editors evaluated
cities with 100,000 or more people, with the rankings based on cycling-friendly statistics (numbers of bike
lanes and routes, bike racks, city projects completed and planned) and bike culture (number of bike
commuters, cycling clubs, cycling events, renowned bike shops). (04/10)

19th “Best City for Families” according to Parenting.com. Cities were ranked
based on health, safety, education, economy and recreation. (06/10)

Listed in RelocateAmerica.com’s “Top 100 Places to Live in America for 2010”. The
list focused on communities poised for recovery and future growth. The editorial team discovered
communities with strong local leadership, employment opportunities, thriving community commitment,
improving real estate markets, growing green initiatives, plentiful recreational options and an overall high
quality of life. (05/10)

Has 5 high schools listed on Newsweek's annual “America's Best High Schools” list. The
ranking is based on how hard their staffs work to challenge students with advanced-placement courses
and tests. (06/10)

Colorado State continues to have the lowest percentage of obese adults at 19.1 percent according to Trust for
America’s Health. (06/10)

2009 Rankings


2nd fittest city in the country as ranked by Men’s Fitness magazine. The survey
was based on 14 categories ranging from the number of fitness centers to air quality to commute times.
(01/09)

3rd most-obsessed sports town in America by Men's Health Magazine. The
survey based its conclusion on ticket sales, apparel sales and television viewership. (07/09)

3rd Midsize Magnet city by Next CitiesTM. The recent study looked at the 60
U.S. Hotspots for Young, Talent Workers. The indexes used for the study included cost of lifestyle, city’s
future job growth potential, the health of the city, places to go and things to do, education
opportunities, commute times and diversity. (06/09)

3rd in “Best Cities for a Housing Recovery” by Forbes.com. Forbes looked at 161
of the country's largest metropolitan statistical areas (or metros) where sales activity had picked up over
the last year, but where foreclosure sales, as a percentage of overall sales were the lowest. (08/09)

6th top city for defense jobs according to ClearJobs.com. According to the
report, two Air Force Bases and the U.S. Air Force Academy, the aerospace industry is only second to
tourism in Colorado Springs. The focus is on highly technical missions, chiefly systems engineering and
space surveillance. (04/09)

6th in the Top Ten Alternative Fueled City Fleets. The study was based on the
percentage of their city vehicle fleets using alternative fuels including biodiesel, hydrogen, ethanol and
compressed natural gas, as well as electric and gas-hybrid vehicles. (03/09)

7th “Best City to Raise an Outdoor Kid” by Backpacker Magazine. The survey
used metrics including climate, landscape, air pollution, obesity rates, Boy’s Life subscribers, and online
voting by Backpacker readers. (09/09)

8th best city to find a fresh start according to BusinessWeek.com. The survey
was ranked based on the percentage of companies planning to hire in the third quarter, according to a
new Manpower survey of 28,348 U.S. employers that was conducted April 6-29. (06/09)

9th in America’s Best Midsize Metropolitan Areas according to MSNBC. The
scores went to well-rounded places with healthy economies, light traffic, moderate costs of living,
impressive housing stocks and strong educational systems. (03/09)

9th in “America’s Best Bang-For-The-Buck Cities” by Forbes.com. The study was
based on solid housing markets, relatively stable employment, enviable cost of living and quick
commutes. (11/09)

10th best drivers according to the “Allstate America’s Best Drivers ReportTM"
which ranked America's 200 largest cities in terms of car collision frequency to identify which cities have
the safest drivers. (07/09)

10th on the 2009 Forbes Best Places for Business and Careers list. The rankings
are based on income and growth, cost of doing business, available labor, crime rates, housing costs and
net migration. 200 large metropolitan areas were ranked. (03/09)

10th “Best City to be a Woman” according to Women’s Health magazine. The
study was based on 35 health and lifestyle areas including health, life and fitness. (12/09)

14th for areas with the cleanest air in the American Lung Association (ALA)
State of the Air 2009 report. (04/09)

24th Metro Least Touched by Recession by BusinessWeek. The report was based
on a combination of stable home prices and sizable sectors in health care, energy, government, and
education. (10/09)

Best Place to Live by Outside.online. Factors like cost of living, unemployment,
nightlife, commute time, access to green spaces and multisport factor including quality and proximity to
biking, running, paddling, hiking, and skiing. (07/09)

One of the best southwest cities for defense jobs by FedSmith.com. The
survey found that Colorado Springs has a niche market for defense technology partly due to 4 military
installations in the city. (02/09)

One of the top “10 Best Drivers’ Cities in America” list according to Car &
Driver magazine. Factors such as frequency of sunny days, car ownership costs, and annual road salt use
factored into the ratings. (12/09)

Colorado State ranked 2nd in the Index of Free States according to a study done by the Mercatus Center at
George Mason University. Indicators included income taxation, fireworks laws, home-schooling rules to
drug policy. (03/09)

Colorado State ranked 4th “Happiest State” by MSNBC.com. The study includes six types of well-being: overall
evaluation of lives, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors (such as whether a person smokes
or exercises), and job satisfaction. (11/09)

Colorado State ranked 15th in the top states in developing a “clean-energy economy,” according to a report
out this week by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The study was comprised of five categories: (1) Clean
Energy; (2) Energy Efficiency; (3) Environmentally Friendly Production; (4) Conservation and Pollution
Mitigation; and (5) Training and Support. (06/09)

[echo98]

one of the worst cities in the country for culture unless you like walmart mixed with fast food. (01/11)

[TheTomness]

Originally Posted by echo98

one of the worst cities in the country for culture unless you like walmart mixed with fast food. (01/11)

I just might add that too, I was thinking of doing a Thread next on the "Culture in COS," what little there is to mention for our city anyways. After seeing it all, there's not much to do until the next Spring Spree or parade down Tejon St. happens.

[Carrera32]

Before you pass judgment on the lack of culture, have you given the local Philharmonic and the chamber group a try? Have you taken advantage of any of what the local universities' performing arts programs offer? Have you visited the local private galleries? Have you been out to the Stargazers Theater? We heard a pretty good rock and roll band from Austin there last weekend. Great venue for live music and it should have been packed, but wasn't. Have you taken in the indie and other films at the Kimball Twin that don't typically make it to the multiplexes?

We just arrived in COS from a region with a lot of cultural activities. But they were very expensive ($80-100 a ticket for the symphony, $60 or so for an admittedly great live music venue) and inconvenient (drive for an hour in heavy traffic, and pay an arm and a leg for parking). One of the first things we did when we got here was buy partial season passes to the Philharmonic. For a community of this size, we found it to be quite impressive, plus we were surprised at its flexibility, ranging from hard core classical to playing with the old rock group Flash Cadillac for a Christmas show and featuring the CS Conservatory for New Years. Something for everyone. While the cultural scene is certainly not comparable to bigger cities, the local symphony is affordable and, not to be discounted, convenient. Even the event parking is cheap ($5) at least when compared with our past experiences. We haven't seen any live theater yet (recommendations anyone?), but plan to in the future.

While this may not be a cultural mecca, we haven't found it to be a wasteland either, particularly for a community of this size, in the shadow of a major metro area. Pls give some of these groups and venues a chance before discounting this area's cultural life.

[Carrera32]

TheTomNess - Thanks for posting these rankings. We've seen some of them before, and they were quite helpful in assessing the various aspects of the area that were appealing to us. Since everyone has differing needs, expectations, and priorities, having these rankings in a number of "livability" categories is great. Thanks again for the post.

[SheridanL]

AND..I might add to Carrera's post.. Carrera said, " An hours drive in heavy traffic"! Well.....that would put COS events right in Denver!!! So now one would have to add the two together!!!

[Bullitt007]

Originally Posted by echo98

one of the worst cities in the country for culture unless you like walmart mixed with fast food. (01/11)

Ok...I'll bite. Please back up your statement with facts and not simply opinion. Show me three references that list Colorado Springs as "one of the worst cities in the country for culture"...

[TheTomness]

Just noticed,
We were the 3rd Drunkest City in the US back in 2007,
This year we dropped all the way down to 16th place, America's Drunkest Cities : Men's Health Metrogrades , Beating Denver, who usually has the number one spot. They must have changed the way they did the ranking, looks like we have to pick up on all of our drinking habits and get back up in the top again. Who's with me?

I think we only lost points because they were looking at the number of deaths from the likes of alcoholic liver disease and such as compared to the actual number of drunks (DUI, Public intoxication, etc.) this time. In Colorado you could drink less get drunk faster and not have to worry about over drinking your organs to death as much as lower altitude states.

[otowi]

I've been around the country and seen a lot of places where people drink a whole lot more than here, and where there a whole lot more alcohol-related crimes and problems than here.

[Bullitt007]

Originally Posted by Bullitt007

Ok...I'll bite. Please back up your statement with facts and not simply opinion. Show me three references that list Colorado Springs as "one of the worst cities in the country for culture"...

Just as I thought...ask for facts and the silence is deafening.