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Raleigh Ranks Among Best Places
Live, Work, Play and More
The following is a list of recognitions Raleigh has received throughout the last few years.
Tenth most prosperous City - April 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.
Read MoreRaleigh-Cary Tied Second for Most Comfortable Communities - 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.
Triangle Scores Eighth in Small Business Survey - April 2013
A survey of nearly 8,000 small businesses throughout the nation rated the business climates of the 57 largest metro areas and found Raleigh-Durham the eighth most supportive. The survey was conducted by Thumbtack.com, in partnership with Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Read MoreRaleigh Rated Fastest Growing Metropolitan Area - March 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.
Read MoreEducation
Triangle Has Nation's Most 'Educated' Center Cities - January 2013
Triangle Takes Fifth In Ranking of America's Most Educated - September 2011
The Triangle is the nation's number two brain magnet - February 2011
The U.S. Census Bureau found Raleigh to be the nation's fourth Smartest City - October 2010
Raleigh-Cary Area is 11th Brainiest City on TheDailyBeast.com - August 2010
Number One in Public Schools from Greatschools.org - August 2010
Business Facilities ranks Raleigh work force America's 15th best educated - July 2007
Entertainment & Culture
KaBOOM! Names Raleigh "Playful City USA" Community - May 2012
Among the 10 "Tastiest Towns in the South" - December 2011
Ranked Third-Best Place for College Students to Live by the American Institute for Economic Research - September 2010
Hotwire.com found Raleigh to be one of the top ten best travel values - March 2010
Raleigh lands on Kiplinger magazine's list of the seven "cool cities" in the United States - September 2005
Esquire magazine lists Raleigh as No 4 on its list of "Cities that Rock" - April 2005
Family
The Human Life Project named Raleigh America’s most “family friendly city” among the nation’s 50 most populous metropolises - January 2013
10 Best Cities for a Happy Marriage - June 2012
Raleigh is third among its "10 Best Cities for Raising a Family" - January 2012
The fastest growing demographic of teens 15 and under - September 2011
Called "Great for Raising Families" by Kiplinger - September 2011
Who's Your City? Listed Raleigh as the fifth best medium-sized city for families with children - May 2008
Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation lists Raleigh the third best city for relocating families in America's medium markets - July 2007
Great City
Forbes Finds Raleigh Is Fourth Fastest Growing in 2012 - January 2013
24/7 Wall St. placed Raleigh seventh on its list of the 10 best run cities in America - January 2013
The Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area climbed to third in the 2012 Milken Institute's Best Performing Cities Index. The area was 14th in 2011 - January 2013
Yahoo! Finance Places Raleigh Sixth On Its 'Hottest American Cities of the Future' Listing - June 2012
America's Most Optimistic Large Metro Area; Among the Most Satisfied - March 2012
Raleigh seventh on its list of "America’s 20 Can-Do Capitals" - February 2012
Raleigh labeled, "The Best American city" - September 2011
Raleigh Ranked fifth on the "Can-Do Cities" list - September 2011
RelocateAmerica placed Raleigh on its list of "America's Top 10 Places to Live" - August 2011
Named seventh Best-Performing City by Milken Institute - Novermber 2010
Named the American city with the best quality of life - July 2010
Ranked Second Fastest-Growing Metro Region by Brookings - May 2010
Triangle named the Third Best Metro Area for Business by Forbes - April 2010
RelocateAmerica.com put Raleigh eighth on its Best Places to Live list - April 2010
The Raleigh/Cary area has the highest well-being in the South and the nation's top work environment index - February 2010
Raleigh has Most Impressive Climb Since 2000 in Population Rankings from Buffalo Business First - February 2010
Foreign Direct Investment magazine's North American Cities of the Future - April 2009
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
Kiplinger's Personal Finance names Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill the second best urban area in the United States - July 2008
Health & Environment
An annual study conducted by Texas A&M University found that the Triangle’s commuters wasted the least amount of time in traffic - February 2013
Raleigh Places Fifth Nationally In Offering Eco-Friendly Services - August 2012
Raleigh at the top of the rankings of the healthiest cities in the nation for women - January 2012
Nation's Most Sustainable Mid-Size Community - April 2011
America's Third Cleanest City - March 2011
Raleigh is named the 12th "best walking city in the U.S." by Prevention magazine - July 2007
Housing & Economy
Raleigh Area Posts Fifth Best Recession Recovery - November 2011
Raleigh-Cary area the healthiest of the 100 largest U.S. housing markets - March 2011
Named tops in Home Prices Appreciating by Forbes - October 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
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
Forbes.com found Raleigh to be the second best city for bargain house hunters - February 2008
Forbes magazine ranks the Triangle's economy as fifth on a list of 10 recession-proof local economies - May 2008
Money magazine ranks the Triangle the seventh top appreciating metro area - December 2007
The National Policy Research Council names Wake County the third hottest economic development spot - September 2007
Raleigh is the best place in the nation to sell a home, according to an analysis by Forbes.com - July 2007
Jobs & Business
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
The National Federation of Independent Businesses placed Raleigh second on its national list of best cities to start a business - February 2013
Forbes Ranks Raleigh Seventh on Jobs List - May 2012
10 Best Cities for College Graduates - May 2012
Among America's Tops for Retired Veterans seeking New Careers - November 2011
Raleigh Ranked First on Forbes List of Best Places for Business and Careers - July 2011
One of the Next Big Boom Towns and Among the Best Cities for Young Professionals - June 2011
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
Ranked Fifth Strongest Job Market by Businessweek - July 2010
Reported Fifth Greatest Job Growth by Triangle Business Journal - July 2010
BNET.com placed Raleigh as the third Hottest Job Growth City for the Next Decade - Arpil 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
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
Newgeography.com put the Raleigh-Cary area at the top of its 2008 ranking of the Best Cities To Do Business In - December 2008
Inc. magazine ranks Raleigh America's best city in which to do business - July 2008
Forbes.com ranked Raleigh the Number 1 place for business and careers - March 2008
North Carolina is listed as the Number one business climate in the U.S. by Site election - November 2007
Bizjournals lists Raleigh as the 12th best market for female execs and women business owners - August 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
Forbes magazine ranks Raleigh-Durham number 2 in the nation as "Best Places for Business and Careers" - May 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
People
Among the nation's least residentially segregated metropolitan areas - February 2011
Men's Health magazine ranked Raleigh the most politically engaged city in America - September 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
Smithsonian.com ranked Raleigh as a top 15 place for cultured retirement - April 2008
Sperling's Best Places found Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill to be the third most romantic city in America for baby boomers - March 2008
Raleigh is named The Best American City for Singles" in Every Day with Rachel Ray magazine - January 2008
MarketWatch lists Raleigh in the top 25 places for retirement jobs - November 2007
Raleigh joins Washington, Denver, Austin and Lexington, Ky., in Kiplinger magazine's salute to the best cities for young singles - July 2007
Black Enterprise names Raleigh the third best city in the U.S. for African Americans - July 2007
Science & Technology
Raleigh is tenth on CIO.com's ranking of Best Cities for IT Jobs - January 2013
Jones Lang LaSalle’s 2013 Life Sciences Cluster Report put the Raleigh-Durham area first on its list of the nation’s top life-science clusters - February 2013
Forbes latest report on “America’s New Tech Hot Spots” ranks the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area fifth in the nation - January 2013
Triangle Leads Nation In Growing Tech Jobs - March 2012
Front of Line Among U.S. Technology Hubs - January 2011
Business Facilities named Research Triangle Park number 4 on its list of International Emerging Biotech Hubs - August 2010
Raleigh tops Forbes magazine's annual list of Most Wired Cities in America - March 2010
Forbes.com ranked Raleigh the third most wired city - January 2009
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
The Association of University Research Parks names North Carolina State University's Centennial Campus the top research science park - November 2007
The U.S. Census Bureau lists Raleigh the third techiest city in America - September 2007
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
