2019
Raleigh is the 2019 Best City to Drive In - wallethub.com, September 2019
Raleigh ranks 2019's 11th Best Big Cities to Live In - wallethub.com, July 2019
Raleigh ranks 2nd in 2019 Top 100 Best Places to Live - livability.com, May 2019
Raleigh ranks 3rd Best in Quality of Life in the World - NUMBEO, March 2019
Raleigh is 2nd in Most Family-Friendly Cities poll - Homes.com, February 2019
2018
Raleigh 4th Fastest City for Internet Speeds in U.S. - WRAL Tech Wire, December 2019
Raleigh is #2 in The 10 Best Big Cities to Live in Right Now - Money, November 2018
Raleigh is home to NCSU, a Top School for Entrepreneurship Studies for 2019 - The Princeton Review, November 2018
Raleigh is one of Eight of America’s Most Digitally Inclusive Tech Cities - Brookings, November 2018
Raleigh ranks #2 on latest Forbes List for Businesses and Careers - News and Observer, November 2018
Raleigh Takes the Top Spot On a List of the 100 "Best Cities to Drive in" - WalletHub, July 2018
Raleigh came in First in a Survey of 2,000 GeekWire.com Readers as a Place Tech Industry Staffers Would Like to Live - Geekwire poll, July 2018
Raleigh listed in Top 10 Best Cities for New Grads Starting Out - MarketWatch, May 2018
Raleigh ranks 3rd Best in Quality of Life in the World - NUMBEO, March 2018
Raleigh Among the Best Places to Go in April - Town & Country Magazine, February 2018
Raleigh is No. 6 in a List of Top 20 State Capitals to Live In - WalletHub’s study, February 2018
Raleigh is 1 of 10 Cities Primed for Economic Growth & Opportunity in 2018 - CardRates.com, February 2018
Raleigh Ranks #5 for Best Metros for Dating 2018 - ApartmentList, February 2018
Raleigh & Durham, North Carolina is Ranked #13 in Best Places to Live - U.S. News & World Report, February 2018
Raleigh & Durham, North Carolina is Ranked #17 in Best Places to Retire - U.S. News & World Report, February 2018
Raleigh Listed in the 10 Coolest Places to Eat in 2018 - Forbes, January 2018
2017
Raleigh Ranked as #2 Best Performing City in 2017 - December, 2017
Raleigh Ranks First in "Best Tasting Water in the State Contest - Annual NC AWWA-WEA Conference, November 2017
Raleigh in Top 10 Best Cities in America to Live - 24/7 Wall St., November 2017
Raleigh is #2 Most Educated City in the Country - Forbes, October 2017
Raleigh in the Top 5 Cities for Jobs in the U.S. - Glassdoor, September 2017
Raleigh is #3 Sportiest City - Men's Health, September 2017
Raleigh is 1 of 10 Best Cities For Startups You’ll Want to Be Based In - Hubstaff, August 2017
Raleigh is Among Best Budget Destinations in America, Part III: The South - Budget Travel, July 2017
Raleigh is #10 Among 100 Best Cities to Drive In, WalletHub July 2017
Raleigh is #6 Among 100 Most Adventurous Cities in America - Men's Health, June 2017
MIT's International Center for Aviation calls Raleigh's RDU International Airport Best Connected Medium Sized Airport - News & Observer, May 2017
Raleigh is #14 Fastest Growing Metro in U.S. - U.S. Census Bureau, March 2017
Raleigh Ranked #8 in Best Cities for Veteran Homebuyers to Live - Veterans United Network, March 2017
Raleigh ranks 2nd Best in Quality of Life in the World - NUMBEO, March 2017
Raleigh Ties for #7 in Best Places to Work for Veterans - Veterans United Network, March 2017
Carolina Publishing Associates Names North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh #1 Among 2016 Top N.C. Tourist Attractions - WRAL, March 2017
Carolina Publishing Associates Names North Carolina Museum of Art #9 Among 2016 Top N.C. Tourist Attractions - WRAL, March 2017
Carolina Publishing Associates Names Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh #6 Among 2016 Top N.C. Tourist Attractions - WRAL, March 2017
Carolina Publishing Associates Names North Carolina Museum of History #8 Among 2016 Top N.C. Tourist Attractions - WRAL, March 2017
Raleigh's Second Empire Restaurant & Tavern Receives 2017 Four-Diamond Restaurant Award - AAA, January 2017
Raleigh's Renaissance Raleigh North Hills Hotel Receives 2017 Four-Diamond Hotel Award - AAA, January 2017
Raleigh is #22 Among Most Caring Cities in America - WalletHub, January 2017
Raleigh Among Top 10 Boomtowns of 2016 - SmartAsset, January 2017
Raleigh Among 12 Top Destinations of 2017 - Forbes Travel Guide, January 2017
2016
Raleigh is one of the Top 10 Cities for Beer Lovers:
The Oak City ranked sixth in the nation, according to the report by business data and analytics provider Infogroup. The study was released November 14, 2016.
Raleigh is the Best Big City in the Southeast:
From East Coast to West, six places offer the best of urban living at a price you can afford.
- Northeast - Boston
- Southeast - Raleigh
- Best in Midwest - Columbus
- Best in South - Arlington, TX
- Best in Mountains - Colorado Springs
- Best in West - Portland, OR
Money Magazine's Best Big Cities list identifies the metro area (300,000-plus population) in each region of the country that offers all the benefits of big-city living plus strong job growth, affordable housing, good schools, low crime, and great quality-of-life factors such as ample transportation options and access to green space. - Money Magazine, September 2016
Raleigh is the 2nd Easiest City to Find a Job:
To determine the easiest and hardest cities for finding a job right now,Indeed.com‘s data team took a look at the population of each metropolitan region, comparing it to the number of job listings for that area. - Forbes, September 2016
- San Jose, CA
- Raleigh, NC
- Denver, CO
- Washington, D.C.
- San Francisco, CA
Raleigh Named Number 2 in America's Hottest Spots For Tech Jobs:
There are plenty of opportunities for programmers and engineers away from Silicon Valley with Raleigh in North Carolina posting a 38.5 percent increase in technology jobs between 2010 and 2015. - Forbes, August 2016
Raleigh Ranked as the #6 Most Future Ready City, Based on the Dell Future Ready Economies Model - Dell Technologies, July 2016
Raleigh is 15th in 100 Best Cities for Recent Grads 2016:
NerdWallet analyzed the 100 largest U.S. cities and ranked them according to the places that provide the best environments for college graduates who are just starting out. Our analysis focused on 2014 U.S. Census Bureau data covering job options, the age of the population, rent costs and median earnings, as well as December 2015 unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. - NerdWallet, March 2016
Raleigh Named Number 3 in America's 20 Best Cities For Young Professionals In 2016:
To find out which cities offer the best overall prospects for college-educated workers with five years of experience or less, Forbes crunched data on job growth, unemployment rates, pay and cost of living in America’s largest 100 metro areas. The result is our 2016 list of The 20 Best Cities For Young Professionals. - Forbes, March 2016
Raleigh is No. 3 on a new ranking of the "Best Cities for Young Families" by financial research site Value Penguin:
The rankings of the 156 best U.S. cities are based on 16 data points related to five areas that affect young families most, specifically how the city stacks up for working parents, buying and selling homes, education/environment, outdoor activities and safety/health care. - Value Penguin, February 2016
U-Haul report: North Carolina is No. 1 'Growth State':
U-Haul put the Tar Heel State at No. 1 on its list of U.S. Growth States in 2015, as North Carolina posted the biggest net gain of one-way U-Haul truck rentals entering the state as opposed to leaving it during last year. Trailing North Carolina are, in order, Virginia, Ohio, Florida and California. - Triangle Business Journal, February 2016
Raleigh's one of the 7 Hottest Startup Hubs Outside of Silicon Valley:
Raleigh is one of the seven hottest startup hubs outside of the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, according to a new report by Mattermark, summarized by Inc.
The report is based on data on more than 6,700 investments made in nearly 5,000 companies in 16 cities across the U.S. during the past four years. - Triangle Business Journal, February 2016
Raleigh is No. 5 on a list of "America's Next Boom Towns,":
The rankings are based on eight metrics, weighted equally: The percentage of children in the population, the birth rate, net domestic migration, the percentage of the population aged 25-44 with a bachelor’s degree, income growth, the unemployment rate, and population growth. - Forbes, January 2016
North Carolina is No. 5 Among Top Moving Destinations:
North Carolina ranks No. 5 among the top moving destinations, according to the 2015 National Movers Study by United Van Lines.
The study is based on household moves handled by United within the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C. - Triangle Business Journal, January 2016
2015
Raleigh was named the 19th Best City for Singles in a recent study from the leading personal finance outlet WalletHub.com. You can find the full study here. Some singles are closer to a happily ever after than they think, but it depends on where they live. To identify the cities in which singles have the highest chance of finding a significant other, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 most populated U.S. cities across 25 key metrics. Our data set ranges from the percentage of singles to the number of online-dating opportunities to the number of attractions in each city.
The Dating Scene in Raleigh (1=Best; 75=Avg.)
- 12th – Movie Costs
- 58th – Number of Cafes per Capita
- 31st – Online Dating Opportunities
- 17th – Mobile Dating Opportunities
- 16th - Median Annual Household Income
- 25th - Number of Shopping Centers per Capita
In honor of Veterans Day, Wallet Hub, a financial website, collected data from 100 of the most populated U.S. cities to create the 2015 Best and Worst Cities for Veterans list. Raleigh ranked 8th. The ranking considers the most integral factors for veterans when they return from a deployment - jobs, healthcare and education. The rankings were determined by two equally-weighted categories - economic wellness and education, environment and health. The 18 metrics within those dimensions include factors such as unemployment rate for veterans, patients willingness to recommend local veteran hospitals, military skilled-related jobs and number of homeless veterans - November 2015
Glassdoor, a jobs and career community, released its 25 Best Cities for Jobs report and named Raleigh is the number one city for jobs in the United States - May 2015
Personal finance social network WalletHub has named the Greater Raleigh metro area as the No. 2 best metro area in the United States in which to work at a small business. WalletHub determined the ranking by examining 11 key metrics of the small business environment in the top 100 metro areas - May 2015
Raleigh becomes first North Carolina Community to achieve 4-STAR Community Rating for national excellence through the STAR Community Rating System. STAR is a robust sustainability rating system for cities, towns, and counties, where communities evaluate themselves across seven goal areas related to sustainability. Ten additional communities achieved a 4-STAR rating including Austin, TX; Tucson, AZ; and Washington, DC - April 2015
Public Utilities Department wins award for Watershed Protection Program. The North Carolina Source Water Collaborative recognized the City of Raleigh Public Utilities Department for its pioneering Watershed Protection Program with an inaugural statewide award - April 2015
Buffaloe Road Aquatic Center earns recognition for sustainable features and environmentally friendly design. The state-of-the-art aquatic center has been given the Best of Aquatics Award for Green Practices by Aquatics International magazine - April 2015
City’s Fleet Services Division Named to Nation’s Top 50 by Government Fleet magazine - April 2015
Raleigh ranked among Most Innovative Tech Hubs in Nation as NerdWallet considers school quality alongside affordability. NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy website, recently conducted a study to identify the most innovative tech hubs in the nation and Raleigh ranked among the top 15 - March 6
The Brookings Institution’s survey of the world’s metropolitan regions found four American cities among the world’s 50 leading economic growth areas, and Raleigh is one of them. Raleigh’s job growth powers ranked 41st globally in 2014 - January 2015
17th Best City to Find a Job - WalletHub - January 2015
Money magazine tapped Raleigh as one of America’s five best retirement cities - January 2015
Raleigh took fifth place in the 2014 edition of the Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities ranking. The study of America’s 200 large metropolitan statistical areas measured job growth, wage and salary growth, and the size and concentration of the high tech industry - January 2015
2014
Raleigh Is the 7th
Best College City in America in Terms of Large Cities – WalletHub Study - December 2014
The new Forbes’ “America’s Smartest Cities” report ranks Raleigh seventh among the 51 largest cities with a 78.7 percent increase in college educated residents since 2000. It found that 43.7 percent of Raleigh residents have a college diploma - November 2014
To determine which U.S. cities were the best for veterans, WalletHub ranked 100 of the nation’s most populous cities on 19 metrics such as the percentage of military skill-related jobs, the availability of Veterans Administration health facilities and rankings of the percentage of veterans living below the poverty line. Raleigh came in ninth in the nation - November 2014
Raleigh is ranked the second best American city to find a job. Forbes.com reported that indeed.com’s data team examined the population of each of the nation’s metropolitan regions, comparing it to the number of job listings for the area. It found that Raleigh was the second vest city to find a job with 88 openings per 1,000 residents - November 2014
Forbes.com reported that WalletHub’s search for the nation’s most and least educated cities found Raleigh was the second most and its neighbor, Durham was the third such - September 2014
According to Forbes.com, being family friendly is the “hippest” thing to be for American cities wanting a robust future. As the millennial generation enters its primary child-raising years, these “thirtysomethings” are seeking cities that offer quality schools, affordable housing and long-term economic security. Forbes found that, by these measurements, Raleigh is the nation’s leading “Baby Boomtown.” - September 2014
Raleigh maintained its number two spot on Forbes Magazine’s list of Best Cities for Young Professionals. It cited the area’s healthy number of companies and a very well educated work force - August 2014
For the fourth time in eight years, Forbes Magazine has crowned Raleigh the best place for business and careers. Raleigh’s top billing was due to its number for college-educated residents, proximity to the Research Triangle Park and fewer regulations for small businesses - July 2014
Forbes not only gave Raleigh top billing as the best place in America to raise a family, it gave several reasons why the Capital City is the darling of the “Best of” lists for Forbes and other publications as well. The criteria given include: metro median household income; cost of living; housing affordability; percentage of home owners; average commuting delays and local school quality - April 2014
When international accounting firm KPMG compared the U.S. metropolitan areas with populations between 1 and 2 million, it found Raleigh had the fourth most business cost-friendly characteristics - April 2014
When Forbes.com examined the percentage increase in the number of college graduates moved to American cities between 2007 and 2012, Raleigh’s 14.0 percent increase (45,546) placed it tenth on the publications’ list of America’s “New Brain Power Cities - April 2014
Cheapism.com lists Raleigh among America’s six fastest growing and most affordable cities - February 2014
A winning combination of characteristics won Raleigh second place in Forbes’ 2014 poll of America’s 20 fastest growing cities - February 2014
Recent surveys and studies by Inc.com and thumbtack found Raleigh to be among America’s most friendly environments for small business and one of the nation’s “new opportunity cities - January 2014
24/7 Wall St. placed Raleigh among the top 10 best run cities in America - January 2014
NerdWallet places Raleigh sixth on its top 10 list of best U.S. cities for job seekers - January 2014
Technology and energy are driving the nation’s economy and hubs of these industries are ladled liberally throughout the Milken Institute’s 2013 rankings of America’s best performing cities. The Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area placed 13th in the listing - January 2014
2013
Forbes.com reports that Raleigh’s 7.4 percent increase between 2007 and 2012 in “prime-age” workers was the fourth highest in the nation. (Prime-age workers are defined as 30 to 44.) - December 2013
Money magazine names Raleigh one of the top five places to retire in the nation - October 2013
The Raleigh area is the only locale on the East Coast to make PayScale’s top 10 best cities for high-paying jobs in the United States. Raleigh was seventh on the list - October 2013
Wake County has been ranked eighth among the top 25 high-tech hot spots in the country by the Progressive Policy Institute, an economics think tank - October 2013
Raleigh-Durham is included in Forbes’ 10 Up and Coming Cities for Entrepreneurs. Only two other cities on the list are in the United States. Credited were the Research Triangle Park and Duke University and the University of North Carolina system - October 2013
Raleigh is ranked America’s fifth most hospitable city by Airbnb, a privately held company that provides online service for individuals referred to as “hosts,” generally private parties to rent unoccupied living space and other short-term lodging to guests. The company has more than 250,000 listing in more than 30,000 cities and 192 countries - August 2013
Raleigh’s 3.74 patent applications per 10,000 residents place it fifteenth on Forbes’ list of the World’s Most Inventive Cities - July 2013
Raleigh is ranked tenth on a list of cities deemed most prosperous for businesses. The ranking by MarketWatch, published by Dow Jones & Co., ranked Raleigh high in economic metrics, education scores and concentration of commerce - April 2013
The Raleigh-Cary area came in tied for second in a Gallup poll asking residents if they “felt comfortable walking alone in their community at night.” The poll was conducted among the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the nation - April 2013
A survey of nearly 8,000 small businesses throughout the nation rated the business climates of metro areas and found Raleigh-Durham the eight most supportive. Thumbtack.com, in partnership with Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation conducted the second annual Thumbtack.com Small Business Survey. Thumbtack is an online marketplace for businesses - April 2013
Forbes reported that the population for the Raleigh metropolitan statistical area has expanded 47.8 percent since 2000, tops among the nation’s 52 metropolitan areas that have a population of more than 1 million - March 2013
An annual study conducted by Texas A&M University found that the Triangle’s commuters wasted the least amount of time in traffic among the 32 U.S. metropolitan areas between 1 million and 3 million in population. Raleigh –Durham commuters wasted about 23 hours in traffic in 2011, the latest available data. That is five hours less than the next best metropolitan areas, Milwaukee and New Orleans - February 2013
The National Federation of Independent Businesses placed Raleigh second on its national list of best cities to start a business - February 2013
NerdWallet, a web-based source of financial product information, ranked Raleigh as the eighth best city in the United States for women entrepreneurs - February 2013
Richard Florida’s study of metro regional and their supply of educated residents found the Triangle with vast resources both in the center cities and in the suburbs. The study, “Human Capital in Cities and Suburbs,” found that Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill’s center cities had a percentage of 45.9 of residents that held a bachelors degree or above. That is the highest percentage in the nation. The Triangle came in eighth nationally for the suburbs with 34 percent having at least a college sheepskin - January 2013
Raleigh is tenth on CIO.com’s ranking of Best Cities for IT Jobs for 2013. The rankings are based on internal data from Modis, a global provider of IT staffing and recruiting services, via its national regional branch network. The list factors in projected IT job opportunities based on the volume of job openings over the past six months as well as general assessment of the overall economic environment in each market - January 2013
The Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area climbed to third in the 2012 Milken Institute Best Performing Cities Index. The index ranks the nation’s 200 MSAs on how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth. The components include jobs, wages and salaries and technology growth. Raleigh-Cary climbed 11 ranks from 14th in 2011 - January 2013
The Human Life Project has released the results of its national rankings of America’s most family-friendly cities and first place goes to Raleigh. The Human Life Project promotes cities that work proactively on identifying and reversing negative trends before they become big problems and build a lasting legacy by investing in families - January 2013
Forbes placed Raleigh in the second spot in its list of “Next Biggest Boom Towns in the U.S.” Having the nation’s second highest overall population increase and third highest job growth rate over the past two decades, plus its ranking as the Number 1 city for families with young children earned Raleigh the spot right behind first place Austin, Texas - January 2013
Forbes latest report on “America’s New Tech Hot Spots” ranks the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area fifth in the nation - January 2013
24/7 Wall St. placed Raleigh seventh on its list of the 10 best run cities in America. The ranking looked at the cities’ credit rating, violent crime per 1,000 people and unemployment rate - January 2013
2012
“Thumbtack,” a site self-described as “where you can easily hire local help,” ranked U.S. Cities on per capita availability of eco-friendly services. Raleigh placed fifth nationally - August 2012
Raleigh will be “an amazing place to get a job” Yahoo! Finance states in its determination of the “Hottest American Cities of the Future,” which placed the Capital City sixth on its list - June 2012
RealAge listed Raleigh-Durham sixth on its list of “10 Best Cities for a Happy Marriage.” It wrote: “the area’s vibrant academic spirit and high employment level provide a solid backdrop for a good marriage. Seeing eye to eye on financial issues – a leading cause of marital stress and divorce – can go a long way toward avoiding marriage troubles.” - June 2012
Rent.com has compiled a list of the 10 best cities for college graduates in 2012 and Raleigh is on it. The list was based on: mean annual income, cost of living, rental inventory and the unemployment rate, which received double weight - May 2012
KaBOOM! Names Raleigh "Playful City USA" Community - May 2012
Forbes magazine ranked Raleigh seventh on its best cities for jobs. The magazine ranked the 65 metropolitan statistical areas that have more than 450,000 jobs. The survey included the year’s employment growth rate and the most recent year-on-year job growth. It also considered long-term factors of the average yearly growth rate from 2006 to 2011 and the last five years’ growth measures against the previous five years - May 2012
Raleigh residents posted the highest optimism about where they live among the nation’s large metro areas, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Raleigh was one of a trio of areas that also made the top 10 in overall city satisfaction - March 2012
The Triangle is the hottest spot for technology jobs in the United States according to a report from the technology jobs website Dice.com. The report found that employers within a 30-mile radius of Raleigh are posting 1,120 jobs daily with an average salary of $79,000. That jobs number is up 50 percent from a year ago and nearly triple from the depths of the recession in March 2009 - March 2012
Newsweek magazine ranked Raleigh seventh on its list of “America’s 20 Can-Do Capitals.” The cities were evaluated in the areas of sustainability, livability, transportation and infrastructure, and business development. Using a scoring metric that allowed for a perfect total of 100, Raleigh posted a 61.04 total. Sustainability ranked highest at 18.10, followed by livability at 17.71. Business scored 13.20 out of a possible 25 points. Transportation and infrastructure was the Capital City’s weakest quadrant, earning 12.02 - February 2012
24/7 Wall St. placed Raleigh in third place among its “10 best U.S. Cities for Raising a Family.” Among the Capital City’s assets are its strong economy, its growing high-tech and biotech industries, good schools and highly educated adult population. The magazine also acclaimed Raleigh for offering its youth great opportunities to enjoy healthy exercise, especially basketball. “The city has one on the highest rates of basketball hoops per resident in the country.” - January 2012
The results of an analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control, the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Cancer Society, Women’s Health magazine placed Raleigh at the top of its ranking of the healthiest cities in the nation for women. Overall it measured 30 categories for the 100 largest cities in America, according to Women’s Health Editor Sascha de Gersdorff - January 2012
2011
Southern Living magazine lists Raleigh among its top 10 “Tastiest Towns in the South.” The magazine’s editors specifically mentioned Raleigh’s “fantastic farmers markets and chefs devoted to their culinary heritage” as reasons for the Capital City’s lofty placement - December 2011
The financial services company USAA and the veterans’ membership organization Military.com has placed Raleigh on its list of the 10 best metropolitan areas for military retirees to launch new careers. Raleigh came in eighth on the list - November 2011
Newly released figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that some of the metro areas are beginning to distance themselves from the pack in their economic recovery from the recession, according to the Urban Land Institute magazine. Raleigh took fifth place among metropolitan areas posting the highest total economic growth. From 2007 through 2010, Raleigh posed 10.5 percent growth in its gross domestic product.
November 2011
Businessweek.com dubbed Raleigh “the best American city.” The publication based its rankings on 16 criteria, including the number of recreational amenities, strength of the local economy and the education level of the population. The magazine mentioned the Research Triangle Park, Duke University, North Carolina State University and UNC Chapel Hill, good air quality and a great State Farmers Market as highlights of the area - September 2011
Newsweek magazine ranks Raleigh fifth on its “Can-Do Cities” list. The rankings were the result of an evaluation of 300 American cities in the categories of sustainability, transportation and infrastructure, livability and business development - September 2011
A repot from the Brookings Institution’s Public Policy Research found that there are two Americas emerging on the population landscape; areas that are gaining residents under the age of 15 and those losing this demographic. The center’s report found that Raleigh’s percentage of residents under the age of 15 increased by 45 percent between 2000 and 2010. That is the second highest rate of increase for this demographic in the nation, trailing only Provo, Utah, at 48 percent.
September 2011
A report by the Brookings Institution, “Education, Demand and Unemployment in Metropolitan America” found that U.S. employers need a more educated labor force. In response to these findings, “24/7 Wall St.” evaluated the level of education among America’s metropolitan regions. It found the Triangle to have the nation’s fifth most educated work force - September 2011
The fastest growing demographic of teens 15 and under - September 2011
Called "Great for Raising Families" by Kiplinger - September 2011
Raleigh labeled, "The Best American city" - September 2011
RelocateAmerica placed Raleigh on its list of “America’s Top 10 Places to Live in 2011. “Raleigh demonstrated the enthusiasm and attributes that make a community great,” said Steve Nickerson, RelocateAmerica president and CEO. Raleigh was fourth on the list. It was sixth on the list in 2009 - August 2011
The Triangle is the nation’s second-fastest growing region for green jobs, according to a report issued by the Brookings Institution. The report, “Sizing the Clean Economy,” is the first attempt at a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s green jobs sector - July 2011
Forbes.com scored Raleigh second on its list of America’s Best Cities for Young Professionals. To determine the best for this category Forbes.com evaluated the following evenly weighted factors: local unemployment rate; 2010 to 2012 job growth projections; Census Bureau data on the number of small businesses per capita and number of large businesses; median salaries for 24- to 34-year-old employed college graduates; cost-of-living index; and, percentage of population aged 25 or older with a college degree - July 2011
Forbes.com placed Raleigh number two on its list of The Next Big Boom Towns in the U.S. One-third of the index was job growth, both over the past decade and over the past two years to account for lingering affects of the recession. The other two-thirds was a range of demographic factors including family formation, growth in educated migration, population growth, cultural amenities, employment opportunities and ease of starting businesses - July 2011
Raleigh Ranked First on Forbes List of Best Places for Business and Careers - July 2011
Forbes magazine lists Raleigh the Best Place to Do Business citing its low business costs and educated population as its strongest assets - June 2011
Young love is the latest attribute Raleigh can claim according to a recent study conducted by American City Business Journals. Raleigh placed fourth in the study of America’s best cities for young adults to get started in their careers. Raleigh placed third among the top 10 finishers in the percentage of 18 to 34 year olds who have a bachelor’s degree at 35.89 percent. Almost one-quarter of Raleigh’s population (24.25 percent) is between the ages of 18 to 34 - June 2011
Raleigh is situated to be among America’s 10 largest population gainers in the coming decade, according to data analysis firm ProximityOne. The firm’s estimates take into account results from the 2010 U.S. Census, as well as historical birth, death, migration and economic data - June 2011
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce lauded Raleigh with its 2011 Siemens Sustainable Community Award for “a range of factors including its commitment to developing a ‘green economy.”’ Specifically cited was the City of Raleigh’s work-force development program to retrain workers with the sills needed to make them more employable in the green economy. Also noted was Raleigh’s leadership in creating the blueprint for infrastructure to accommodate plug-in electric vehicles. Raleigh won the award for mid-sized communities; population range 50,000 to 500,000 - April 2011
Forbes.com ranked Raleigh as America’s third Cleanest City. The survey explored the environmental health of the United States’ 80 largest metropolitan statistical areas. Raleigh claimed the top spot nationally for water quality - March 2011
Builder Magazine named the Raleigh-Cary area the healthiest of the 100 largest U.S. housing markets - March 2011
The Triangle is the nation’s number two brain magnet, according to Forbes magazine. Forbes found that Raleigh-Durham rates way up there in terms of the number of college graduates gained in recent years, when compared to the region’s population age 25 and older. The top brain magnet according to Forbes was the New Orleans area which has rapidly gained college graduates as professionals return to the city depopulated by Hurricane Katrina. Forbes said that college graduates are increasingly looking for affordable, suburban environments where they can find a job - February 2011
The percentage of gay parents in the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area is among the highest in the nation. The American Community Survey found that 29.5 percent of the same-sex couples who live here are raising children under the age of 18. The survey found Raleigh to have the nation’s third-highest percentage of same-sex couples with kids among metropolitan area that have a population of more than 1 million. San Antonio is first with 33.9 percent with Jacksonville, Fla., placing second with 32.4 percent. The Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill metropolitan area is 36th with 18.9 percent - January 2011
Data released from the Census Bureau concludes that Raleigh-Durham is among the nation’s least residentially segregated metropolitan area. Social scientists consider a rating of less than 50 to be the moderate range. Raleigh-Durham posted 43.5 in measuring black-white segregation, the third lowest score among America’s 50 most populous areas. Only the Las Vega, Nev.-Ariz., area at 43.2 and the Charleston-North Charleston, S.C., area at 41.8, posted lower black-white segregation rates than the Triangle. (The survey data was collected Jan. 1, 2005 through Dec. 31, 2009) - January 2011
Front of Line Among U.S. Technology Hubs - January 2011
2010
Newsweek placed Raleigh-Durham at the front of the line among U.S. technology hubs in a feature entitled “Greetings from Recoveryland” which lists the 10 American cities it evaluated as best situated for economic recovery. The article reads: “The population of Raleigh-Durham grew faster than any major U.S. metropolitan area during the recession, and the city ranked third on Newsweek’s list in terms of job growth over the last decade.” - November 2010
The Raleigh-Cary area placed seventh on the Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities Index. The California-based think tank relies heavily on high-tech industry data in formulating its index, insisting that technology is the crucial ingredient for future growth - October 2010
The U.S. Census Bureau found Raleigh to be the nation's fourth Smartest City - October 2010
Named tops in Home Prices Appreciating by Forbes - October 2010
Ranked Third-Best Place for College Students to Live by the American Institute for Economic Research - September 2010
Forbes Magazine commissioned real estate research firm Local market Monitor to find the areas in the nation that have the greatest likelihood of residential real estate price appreciation. The sole metric used to determine the leaders was a mix of jobs and growth industries in the area. The survey placed the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area as the tops in the nation to have home prices appreciate the most and the quickest. Three of the remaining nine areas in the projected top 10 are in Texas. No other North Carolina metropolitan areas make the cut - September 2010
The American Institute for Economic Research named the Raleigh-Cary metro area the third best place in the country for College Students to Live - September 2010
Kiplinger’s named Raleigh the tenth Great City for Raising Families - August 2010
The DailyBeast.com ranked the Raleigh-Cary metro area the 11th Brainiest City in America - August 2010
Business Facilities named Research Triangle Park number 4 on its list of International Emerging Biotech Hubs - August 2010
Business Facilities ranks Raleigh seventh in the list for Low Cost Manufacturing Centers - August 2010
GreatSchools.org put Raleigh as the Number 1 Top Public Schools System in the U.S. - August 2010
Business Facilities named Research Triangle Park number 4 on its list of International Emerging Biotech Hubs - August 2010
Ranked Seventh in Low-Cost Manufacturing Centers by Business Facilities - August 2010
Ranked Number Three Best City for Small Businesses by American Business Journal - August 2010
Raleigh-Cary Area is 11th Brainiest City on TheDailyBeast.com - August 2010
Number One in Public Schools from Greatschools.org - August 2010
Ranked Fifth Strongest Job Market by Businessweek - July 2010
Named the American city with the best quality of life - July 2010
Reported Fifth Greatest Job Growth by Triangle Business Journal - July 2010
American City Business Journal ranked Raleigh number 3 on its list of Best City for Small businesses - July 2010
ManPower put the Raleigh-Cary metro area fifth on its list of Strongest Job Markets - July 2010
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics finds the Raleigh-Cary metro area has the fifth greatest Job Growth Since 2005 - July 2010
KPMG, LLC found Raleigh to be the third most Cost Competitive North American City - June 2010
Ranked Second Fastest-Growing Metro Region by Brookings - May 2010
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics placed Raleigh 18th on the list of Best Labor-Market Performances - May 2010
Raleigh is named the American city with the best quality of life in a new poll by the website Portfolio.com that ranked 67 metropolitan areas with healthy economies on cost of living, housing stocks, education systems and traffic. “There are several factors that pushed Raleigh to the top of the list, with being the only major market that is expanding and growing at a rapid pace, resulting in a metropolitan increase of 37 percent since 2000,: said G. Scott Thomas, a demographer who created the analysis. “Raleigh has a well-educated work force and an impressive supply of high-level jobs, not to mention its low unemployment rate and its impressive array of big houses.” - May 2010
The Brookings Institution reported that Raleigh is one of the country’s “New Heartland” cities. The report defines this as a sort of new “Middle” America that is home to more families and to employees in the kinds of jobs that economists say are going to propel the United States in the coming years. The report, “The State of Metropolitan America” produced by the Washington-based think tank lists Raleigh as the second fastest-growing metro region in the country, trailing only Provo Utah. Raleigh is the fastest growing among the nation’s 50 metropolitan areas. According to the report, the Raleigh area saw a jump of nearly 60 percent in the percentage of its non-white population, the eighth-largest increase in the country - May 2010
Forbes.com ranked the Triangle the third best metropolitan area for Business and Careers. The Forbes.com rankings evaluated higher education opportunities, economic and population growth, income and employment rates in all of America’s metro areas. The rankings found the Triangle exceedingly strong in the “cost of doing business,” an index based on cost of labor, energy, taxes and office space - April 2010
BNET.com placed Raleigh as the third Hottest Job C=Growth City for the Next Decade - April 2010
RelocateAmerica.com put Raleigh eighth on its Best Place to Live list - April 2010
Triangle named the Third Best Metro Area for Business by Forbes - April 2010
Forbes.com found Raleigh to be the third Best Place for Business and Careers - April 2010
KPMG names Raleigh 2nd-cheapest midsized market to do business - March 2010
KPMG found Raleigh to be the third most Cost Competitive North American City - March 2010
Hanley Wood Market Intelligence ranked the Raleigh-Cary metro area as the nation's Healthiest Housing Market - March 2010
Raleigh tops Forbes magazine’s annual list of Most Wired Cities in America. It made the evaluation based on broadband adoption (that is the percentage of home with have high speed); access options (that is the number of companies providing high-speed internet); and Wi-Fi hot spots. The area was third in broad band adoption, ninth in access options and fifth in Wi-Fi hot spots - March 2010
Portfolio.com/bizjournals put Raleigh as the third Market for Young Adults - March 2010
Hotwire.com found Raleigh to be one of the top ten best travel values - March 2010
The Raleigh/Cary area has the highest well-being in the South and the nation’s top work environment index. That is according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which placed the area third nationally among the nation’s most populous cities with an index of 68.6, just a smidgen behind Washington, D.C./Arlington/Alexandria, Va., at 69.1 and San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, Calif., in first place with a composite score of 69.2 - February 2010
Buffalo Business First put the Raleigh-Cary metro area the third best area in the U.S. for Five-Year Job Growth - February 2010
Raleigh has Most Impressive Climb Since 2000 in Population Rankings from Buffalo Business First - February 2010
Portfolio.com/bizjournals placed Raleigh as the third Best Place to launch a New Business - January 2010
2009 and Earlier
2009:
Foreign Direct Investment magazine's North American Cities of the Future - April 2009
For the third consecutive year, Forbes names Raleigh America's best metro area for business and careers - March 2009
A Bizjournals study finds Raleigh the best place to launch a new business - February 2009
Forbes.com ranked Raleigh the third most wired city - January 2009
2008:
Newgeography.com put the Raleigh-Cary area at the top of its 2008 ranking of the Best Cities To Do Business In - December 2008
The Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area is ranked number 2 in the
nation's "Top 100 Best Performing Cities" by Milken
Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate partners - September 2008
Men's Health magazine ranked Raleigh the most politically engaged city in America - September 2008
Kiplinger's list Raleigh as the best city to live, work and play in - July 2008
MSNBC.com ranks Raleigh America's best city - July 2008
Inc. magazine ranks Raleigh America's best city in which to do business - July 2008
Kiplinger's Personal Finance names Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill the second best urban area in the United States - July 2008
Forbes magazine ranks the Triangle's economy as fifth on a list of 10 recession-proof local economies - May 2008
Raleigh's growing tech industry, support of entrepreneurs and the
$2.5 billion renaissance downtown place the Capital City at No. 20 in
Fortune's "Blest Places to Live and Launch." - May 2008
A study conducted by American City Business Journals ranked the
Raleigh-Durham market as the best in the nation for young adults,
defined as ages 20 to 34 - May 2008
Who's Your City? Listed Raleigh as the fifth best medium-sized city for families with children - May 2008
Smithsonian.com ranked Raleigh as a top 15 place for cultured retirement - April 2008
Forbes.com ranked Raleigh the Number 1 place for business and careers - March 2008
Sperling's Best Places found Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill to be the
third most romantic city in America for baby boomers - March 2008
Forbes.com found Raleigh to be the second best city for bargain house hunters - February 2008
Raleigh is named The Best American City for Singles" in Every Day with Rachel Ray magazine - January 2008
2007:
Money magazine ranks the Triangle the seventh top appreciating metro area - December 2007
The Association of University Research Parks names North Carolina
State University's Centennial Campus the top research science park -
November 2007
North Carolina is listed as the Number one business climate in the U.S. by Site election - November 2007
MarketWatch lists Raleigh in the top 25 places for retirement jobs - November 2007
The U.S. Census Bureau lists Raleigh the third techiest city in America - September 2007
The National Policy Research Council names Wake County the third hottest economic development spot - September 2007
Bizjournals lists Raleigh as the 12th best market for female execs and women business owners - August 2007
Raleigh joins Washington, Denver, Austin and Lexington, Ky., in
Kiplinger magazine's salute to the best cities for young singles - July
2007
Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation lists Raleigh the third best
city for relocating families in America's medium markets - July 2007
Business Facilities ranks Raleigh work force America's 15th best educated - July 2007
Raleigh is the best place in the nation to sell a home, according to an analysis by Forbes.com - July 2007
Black Enterprise names Raleigh the third best city in the U.S. for African Americans - July 2007
Raleigh is named the 12th "best walking city in the U.S." by Prevention magazine - July 2007
Bizjournals regards Raleigh's job market the fourth hottest in the land for young adults - April 2007
Raleigh is named the top town in the land for employment by Forbes magazine - February 2007
2005:
Raleigh lands on Kiplinger magazine's list of the seven "cool cities" in the United States - September 2005
The Triangle has the nation's fastest-growing work force in the
life-sciences industries, and the best success rate for brining
biotechnology research ideas to market, according to a study by the
Milken Institute - June 2005
The Triangle was ranked third among the nation's metropolitan areas
as a nurturing region for biotechnology companies according to a new
study of regional biotechnology centers conducted by the Milken
Institute - June 2005
Forbes magazine ranks Raleigh-Durham number 2 in the nation as "Best Places for Business and Careers" - May 2005
Esquire magazine lists Raleigh as No 4 on its list of "Cities that Rock" - April 2005
Business 2.0 ranks the Triangle as America's hottest boom town, a
sizzling destination poised to create more high-paying jobs than San
Jose, Calif.; Washington or Atlanta - February 2005