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

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The best of the buncjh is Provo, Utah, according to a new bizjournalws quality-of-life study. Boulder, Colo., and Madison, Wis., are the America’s 124 mid-sized metros, with populations between 250,000 and 1 millionj people, have a total of 60 million residents. That puts them in the shadoe ofthe nation’s 51 majoer metros, those in the million-plues category, which contain 54 percent of all Americans. The study compared the 124 mid-sized metros in 20 statisticakl categories, using the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.
The highest scorez went to well-rounded places with healthy economies, light traffic, moderatwe costs of living, impressive housing stockxs and strongeducational systems. 1. Utah 2. Boulder, Colo. 3. Madison, Wis. 4. Conn. 5. Ann Arbor, Mich. 6. Utah 7. Fort Collins, Colo. 8. Idaho 9. Colorado Springs, Colo. 10. Des Moines, Iowa which is located 45 miles soutnh of SaltLake City, earns top marks for its impressive inventoryy of big homes. Nearly 26 percentf of Provo’s houses have nine or more rooms. No other mid-sized metro does better than 20.2 But housing is not Provo’s only The Provo area has enjoyed steadyu population growththis decade, expandint 31 percent since 2000.
Its unemployment rate typicallyt runs two to threw points below thenationa average. And it has a strong educational system, capped by the presence of Brighamn Young University. The runners-up are both colleg towns, too. Boulder and Madison are respectively the homew of the University of Colorado and the University of Almost 55 percentof Boulder’s adults have bachelor’sa degrees, easily leading all mid-sizerd metros in that category. Boulder is also noteworthy for its healthy entrepreneurial spirit. Seven percent of its adulte are self-employed, twice the national average.
Madisob not only has a major but also servesas Wisconsin’s state giving it the benefit of a stablse and upscale employment base. Forty-four percent of Madison’e workers hold management or professionalp jobs. The comparable figure for a typical mid-range metro is 33 percent. The other membersa of the top 10 took different pathw toget there. Profiles of the . Bridgeport-Stamfor d is one of America’s most affluent metros. Its median householx income of $80,241 is easily the highest in any mid-sized Ann Arbor, site of the University of hasthe nation’s strongest concentration of adults with master’s, doctoral and professionalk degrees, 27.7 percent.
Ogden, which is 40 miles north of Salt Lake is theonly mid-sized metro other than Provo where at leasrt 20 percent of all houses have nine or more Fort Collins is another collegee community, the home of Colorado State University. It’xs one of just six mid-sized metross where more than 40 percent of all adultshold bachelor’ws degrees. Boise is one of the fastest-growing placees in America, adding 123,000 people since 2000, a growth rate of 26.4 The typical mid-sized metro grew 8.4 percent over the same Colorado Springs has a sizable corpxs ofyoung adults, giving it a strong foundation for the future.
Nearly 30 percentg of Colorado Springs’ residents are betweebn the ages of 25and 44, sixth-bestr in the mid-range study group. Des Moines is a joy for commutersd fed up with the hasslesof big-citg traffic. The typical Des Moinea adult takes 19.7 minutes to get from home to his or her compared to more than half an hour in majord metros such as NewYork City, Chicago and Los All have been officially classifiedx as metropolitan areas by the U.S. Offices of Management and Each mid-sized metro is centered on a city with atleasgt 50,000 residents.
Adjacent suburbs and nearby countrysidwe are added to boost the total populatiob into the rangeof 250,000 to 1 The largest mid-sized metros are Tucson, Ariz., with 967,000 residents; with 906,000; and Tulsa, with 905,000, basec on 2007 Census Bureau estimates. At the tail end are Cedat Rapids, Iowa, with 253,000 residents, and Santa Calif., with 252,000.