Boulder, Fort Collins-Loveland and Colorado Springs all scored high marks on a recent bizjournals.com study of the nation’s midsize metros, earning them all spots on the top 10 list for quality of life. The study looked at 124 cities with between 250,000 and 1 million people, which means it likely grouped Loveland with Fort Collins. Provo, Utah, took the No. 1 spot.
Based on 2007 statistics, Boulder was the highest-ranked Colorado city, coming in second out of 124. Bizjournals.com noted that nearly 55 percent of Boulder’s adults have bachelor’s degrees, which easily leads all mid-size metros in that category. It also has a healthy entrepreneurial spirit, with 7 percent of its adults self-employed – twice the national average. Boulder’s other strengths include a “decent percentage” of workers living close to home, a “solid concentration” of management jobs and a “sizable percentage” of adults with advanced degrees. Its population has grown 7.6 percent since 2000, and the median household income was $63,257.
Fort Collins-Loveland was recognized for the same strengths, though its 2007 median household income was only $52,046. Its population grew 14.3 percent, and 41.5 percent of its adults have bachelor’s degrees. Colorado Springs’ top strengths were its sizable inventory of large houses, solid corps of young adults and a heavy share of adults with high school diplomas. Its population grew 13.3 percent between 2000 and 2007, its median income two years ago was $55,304 and 33.5 percent of its adults have bachelor’s degrees.
Here is the complete list of bizjournals.com’s top 10 midsize metros:
- Provo, Utah
- Boulder, Colo.
- Madison, Wis.
- Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn.
- Ann Arbor, Mich.
- Ogden, Utah
- Fort Collins, Colo.
- Boise, Idaho
- Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Des Moines, Iowa
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