They Really, Really Like Us
Forbes: Boulder is ‘America’s Smartest City’
By Richard Martin, 12-19-06
Cross-posted from Osman Parvez's Boulder Real Estate blog.From Forbes:
"Boulder, Colo. may seem like a surprising winner, but it’s no ordinary university town. The University of Colorado’s students and staff account for about 38,000 of the city population of 282,200. Boulder, though, is also sticky enough to keep many of its own graduates around--and attract others."
The magazine provides some numbers that prove this:
-- Percentage with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 52.9
-- Percentage of population 25 and older whose highest educational attainment is a bachelor’s degree: 31.55
-- Percentage whose highest degree is a master’s degree: 14.20
-- Percentage whose highest degree is a professional degree, such as a degree from law or medical school: 3.13
-- Percentage whose highest degree is a Ph.D.: 4.01
Add that to our region's long list of superlatives. Ft. Collins was ranked No. 7 on the smartest cities list and recently ranked best place to live by CNN/Money Magazine.
Still not convinced? Here's a partial list of awards our city has won in the last few years:
2006
"10 Great Biking Cities" - Washington Post, October ‘06
"Heart-Healthiest City" - (#4), Men's Journal, August ‘06
"Top 12 Best Veg-Friendly Places to Live" - VegNews, August ‘06
"Best City for Green Meetings" - (#9), Meetings and Conventions, August ‘06
"Dream Towns" - (#1 All Around), Outside Magazine, Aug. ‘06
"Top 20 Greenest Spots in the Country" - Vegetarian Times, July/Aug. ‘06
"Top Places to Retire" - Where to Retire Magazine, July/Aug. ‘06
"Best Cities For Singles" - (#1), Forbes Magazine, July ‘06
"Top 10 Brainiest Small Cities" - (#3), Bizjournals.com, June ‘06
"Best Places to Retire in Style" - (#1), Fortune Magazine, June ‘06
"Top 25 Arts Destinations" (#10 for small cities) - AmericanStyle Magazine, June ‘06
"Best Cities for Relocating Families" (#4 for mid-sized metro areas) - Worldwide ERC and Primary Relocation, May ‘06
"Top 10 Greenest Cities" - Homestore.com, April ‘06
"50 Best places to live" (#3) - Men's Journal, April ‘06
"Most Vegetarian-Friendly Cities in the U.S." (#7)- PETA.org, April ‘06
"Best City for Cycling" - Bicycling Magazine, March ‘06
"Best City for Teleworking" (#1 small metro area list) - Sperling's BestPlaces research firm, March ‘06
"America's Top 100 Places to Live in ‘06" (#3) - Relocate-America.com, March ‘06
"America's Best Vegetarian-Friendly Small Cities" (#7)- GoVeg.com, March ‘06
"Top Biking City" - Bicycling Magazine, March ‘06
"Place you dream of living" - Backpacker Magazine, February ‘06
"Top 10 Places to Retire" - Bottom Line Retirement, January ‘06
2005
"#1 Best Place to Live" - Successful Meetings, ‘05
"#6 in "The 100 Best Art Towns in America" by John Villani
"50 Best places to live - best overall city" - Men's Journal, March ‘05
“Colorado’s Best Workplaces for Commuters” -United States EPA, April, ‘05
"Going to Boulder" - The New York Times, May ‘05
"#18 in the Top 25 Art Cities" - American Style Magazine, June ‘05
"Top 20 greenest spots in the country" - Vegetarian Times, July/August ‘05
"7th Best Running City" - Runner's World Magazine, August ‘05
"Top 10 cities for masters athletes" (#7) - GeezerJock Magazine, September ‘05
"50 fabulous gay-friendly places to live" - book by Gregory A. Kompes, November ‘05
2004
“36 Hours in Boulder, CO” - New York Times, Jan. 30, ‘04
“Top 20 Boom Towns” (Boulder ranked #1) - Business 2.0, March ‘04
“Top 10 cities for Animal Wellness in North American” - Animal Wellness Magazine, March, ‘04
“Colorado’s Best Workplaces for Commuters” –US EPA, April, ‘04
“Five Impressive Cities; Making a Difference in the Environment” -Delicious Living magazine, April ‘04
"Bicycle friendly community" - League of American Bicyclists, April ‘04
“Nation’s reigning bike friendly community” - The League of American Bicyclists, June ‘04
“Best place in the country for singles (Denver-Boulder)” - Forbes.com, June ‘04
“The Best Small Cities” - Men’s Journal, June ‘04
“Best place to move” (Boulder/Longmont) - Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation, Sept. ‘04
[End of article]
I TOTALLY DISAGREE THAT BOULDER IS THE SMARTEST CITY. FIRSTLY TO A RESIDENT IT IS A COLLIGE TOWN AND FURTHER THEY ARE ALL RADICAL LEFTIST LIBERALS. TO ME IT RANKS ON THE TOP OF THE LIST STUPIDEST CITIES ON THE CONTINENT EXCLUDING SAN FRANISCO. JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A PHD. DOSEN'T MEAN A THING, IT IS NOT WHAT YOU KNOW IT IS WHAT YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO. I LIVE IN TUCSON, AZ AND HAVE A MASTERS DEGREE IN MINING/GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING (NOT SOCIAL SCIENCE) AND HAVE A 4.0 GPA AND 25 YEARS EPIERIENCE WORKING WORLDWIDE FOR A FORTINE 500 COMPANY FINDING AND DEVELOPING WORLD CLASS MINES. AND TO MENTION IN CLOSING I AM A RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVE.
Comment By FRANK, 10-13-07IF GOV. ROMER AND BEN WHITE HORSE CAMPBELL HADEN'T TOLD HI STATE ENVIRONMENTAL DEPARTMENTS TO FOLLOW THE REGULATIONS AND STAY OUT OF OUR WAY THE SAN LUIS GOLD MINE NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED. IT WAS DEVELOPED, MINED OUT OVER 15 YEARS WITH NO PROBLEMS AND GREATLY IMPROVED THE ECONOMY OF SAN LUIS COUNTY AND COLORADO WITH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND JOBS, AND HAS SINCE BEEN COMPLETELY RECLAIMED. THAT COULDN'T HAPPEN IN THE BOULDER AREA BECAUSE OF THE WACKO- LIBS. MAYBE OTHER COMMUNITIES IN CO. ARE FAR MORE INTELLIGENT THAN BOULDER AND IT'S PERVASIVE LIBERAL POPULATION, WHO I CONSIDERFAR LESS THAN "SMART".
Comment By mccaron_anne@asdk12.org, 10-15-07send this
Comment By Nick, 2-12-08Frank-
Apparently your 4.0 GPA doesn't equate to being good at spelling and knowing when not to use all caps? I actually agree with you that the amount of letters after one's name doesn't count for much but why the hate? Did a little Boulder hippie girl break your heart? Can't we all just get along? :)