Rankings

Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce Summarizes some of Charlottesville’s Recent Rankings

January 30, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · Leave a Comment 

Thanks to the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce for this nice summary of recent rankings for the City of Charlottesville! I’ve elaborated on many of these and tried to catalogue them here already on the Charlottesville Rankings page, but I definitely missed a few along the way and will be adding more to the page soon!

It’s hard to debate it- Charlottesville is a great place to live!

From the January 21 Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce ChamberBits Newsletter;

Recent other acknowledgements for the City of Charlottesville include:

• 4th Best Place to Live in the Country - Kiplinger’s Magazine 2009
• Best Place to Launch a Business – Fortune Magazine 2009
• 11th Best Town to Find a Job - Forbes Magazine 2009
• One of the 30 Coolest Neighborhoods, Belmont - Men’s Health Magazine 2009
• 18th Safest Mid-Sized Cities in the Country (populations between 150,000 and 500,000), Farmers Insurance 2009
• AARP, Top 10 Healthiest Places to Retire, 2008
• Best Places to Retire, Black Enterprise Magazine, 2nd in 2008
• Best City for Living and Launching a Business by Fortune and Money Magazines – 18th Place in 2008.
• Best Small Market for Business by Forbes Magazine - 9th Place in 2008.

According to Bestplaces.Net and Mens Journal Magazine, Charlottesville Ranks #5 For Healthiest Towns in the U.S.

January 18, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · 1 Comment 

Thanks to Tom Sellman with C&F Mortgage for this great find!  

Men’s Journal Magazine

February 2010

Volume 19, Number 1

According to Men’s Journal Magazine, Charlottesville is competitive on the following items;

• Local Farms
• Short Commutes
• Sidewalks
• Low Pollution
• Green Spaces
• Good Weather

The other top ranking cities were;

• Iowa City, IA
• Boulder, CO (we are often compared to this city)
• Logan, UT
• Northampton, MA

Once Again, UVA is Named by Princeton Review as the Best Value in Public Schools

January 13, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · 1 Comment 

According to the Daily Progress coverage…

The University of Virginia has been named the top university in The Princeton Review’s latest “Best Value Public Colleges” list.

The College of William and Mary is ranked third in the 2009 list, behind New College of Florida. State University of New York at Binghamton and Florida State University round out the top 5. UVa came in fourth in the previous rankings, released in 2007.

The “Best Value” rankings, which the test-preparation company jointly released with USA Today, are based on surveys of students and administrators at hundreds of colleges and universities.

[From UVa Named Best Value]

Evidently the choices are made on over 30 criteria;

Overall selection criteria included more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs and financial aid. Academic ratings were based on student surveys about such issues as professors’ accessibility and class sizes, as well as institutional reports about student-faculty ratios and percent of classes taught by teaching assistants.

[From Best Value Colleges for 2010 and how they were chosen - USATODAY.com]

Photo Credit: GetMoreU

Blue Ridge Outdoors Reader Poll Reveals Several Charlottesville Favorites!

January 9, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · Leave a Comment 

The Blue Ridge Outdoors January Issue “Best of the Outdoors” article highlights several beautiful areas in Charlottesville. This article is reader voted- polling readers from Baltimore to Atlanta to pick their favorites of the Blue Ridge.

Here are a few of the places that Charlottesville was competitive;

1. Favorite Section of the Blue Ridge Parkway; Humpback Rock voted #3!
2. Favorite Waterfall Section in the Blue Ridge; Crabtree Falls is voted #1! (biggest waterfall East of the Mississippi)- Nelson County
3. Best Ski Runs in the Blue Ridge; Wintergreen Resort Cliffhanger mile long run voted #2!
4. Best Snowboarding Event in the Blue Ridge: Blue Ridge Double Cross voted #1!
5. Favorite Section of the Appalachian Trail: Shenendoah National Park Section voted #5!
6. Best Road Race: The Charlottesville Ten Miler voted #5!
7. Favorite Terrain park: Wintergreen Terrain Park voted #6!

Check out the full video interview of Tom Daly, from Blue Ridge Outdoors on the Newsplex website here and be sure to read the full article at the Blue Ridge Outdoors website here!

Photo Credit: http://www.blueridgelocksmithing.com

According to Kiplinger.com, UVA is #3 in the Nation for Best Value in Public Colleges

January 6, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · Leave a Comment 

The University of Virginia always seems to fare pretty well in this review, but we have once again been ranked high nationwide based on cost versus value.

How is this determined? According to Kiplinger.com;

“Kiplinger’s bases its rankings on a combination of academics and affordability. We start with data from more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, provided by Peterson’s/Nelnet, then add our own reporting.

We narrow the list to about 120 schools based on measures of academic quality — including SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, which most schools reported for the class entering in 2002.

We then rank each school based on cost and financial aid. In our scoring system, academic quality carries more weight than costs (almost two-thirds of the total).

To assess costs, we look at total expenses for in-state students (tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, and books); the average cost for a student with need after subtracting grants (but not loans); the average cost for a student without need after subtracting non-need-based grants; the average percentage of need met by aid; and the average debt per student before graduation. (In the table, aid is need-based assistance.)

To determine out-of-state rankings, we run the academic-quality and expense numbers again, this time using total costs for out-of-state residents and average costs after aid.”

[From How We Rank the Schools - Kiplinger.com]

John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville Voted Best New Arena by Sports Illustrated

January 3, 2010 by Sasha Farmer · Leave a Comment 

We all know that the John Paul Jones Arena is hugely successful and has brought lots of great attention and activity to Charlottesville, but it doesn’t hurt to have Sports Illustrated agree!

BEST NEW ARENA: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Va.

The University of Virginia spent $140 million to build John Paul Jones Arena, which opened in 2006. The arena is a perfect size (capacity 14,593), includes state-of-the-art practice, training and academic facilities, and it blends perfectly into UVA’s stately campus.

[From Tyler Hansbrough, Jonny Flynn shaped decade in college hoops - 2000s: The Decade in Sports - SI.com]

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Creative Commons

Money Magazine Names Charlottesville in the Top 50 Places to Launch a Small Business

October 16, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

Check out the full article here

From the Chamber of Commerce website…

City Chosen as a Top Place to Start a Business by Money Magazine

Charlottesville is the Only City in Virginia to Make the List This Year

The Metro Charlottesville area has been named in the top 50 places in the country to launch a small business by Money Magazine. Charlottesville was also ranked 19th among smaller cities in the country with Billings, MT and Bismarck, ND taking the top spots. For all markets Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Houston, and Hartford made up the top five. Charlottesville and other Virginia cities have made similar lists in previous years but this is the first year that Charlottesville has been singled out as the only city in the state to make either the small, medium or large metropolitan listing.

“We are very pleased to be recognized in this prestigious survey this year for our healthy business climate and competitive costs for doing business,” said Aubrey Watts, Director of Economic Development for the City, “we hope that this important ranking encourages other enterprising businesses to consider Charlottesville home and recognize the opportunities that are possible in Charlottesville even in these challenging economic times.”

According to the editors of the survey the top markets had “growing economies, affordable workers, stable housing markets, low crime — these metro areas have all the features entrepreneurs need to thrive.” The rankings cover hundreds of metropolitan areas and are based on job and income growth, business and living costs, crime, and educational attainment. The city is no stranger to accolades; Charlottesville has the honor of besting 402 other metro areas in the United States and Canada to claim the title of “Best Place to Live” in “Cities Ranked and Rated” by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander.

Forbes Names Virginia as Best Business State

October 4, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

According to Forbes Magazine, Virginia is the best business state yet again (for the 4th year running), “booming compared to the rest of the nation.”

http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/23/best-states-for-business-beltway-best-states.html

Forbes attributes this to our highly educated workforce, low energy usage, and business-friendly incentives.

Virginia Ranked #1 for being Pro-Business

June 30, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

Taken from the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce’s recent ChamberBits newsletter…

Virginia Ranked #1 Again for Its Pro-Business Environment

Even during these difficult times, Virginia’s pro-business environment has garnered it its latest number one ranking nationally. That’s welcomed and needed good news!

The top slot was accorded to Virginia just this week by Pollina Corporate Real Estate Inc., a top U.S. corporate site relocation expert. It marks the third time the company has recognized the state with its highest ranking and is the sixth time overall that the Commonwealth has received national recognition as the most business-friendly state.

Titled “Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States for 2009: Rebuilding Americans’ Economic Power”, the annual study examined job retention and creation by all 50 states and the federal government. Other states rounding out the top five are Utah, North Carolina, Wyoming and South Carolina.

Virginia also held the top spot in the Pollina study in 2003 and 2007. The Commonwealth ranked second from 2004 to 2006 and third in 2008.

The Pollina study evaluated states based on 33 factors—including taxes, human resources, right-to-work legislation, energy costs, infrastructure spending, workers’ compensation laws, economic incentives programs, and state economic development efforts.

In recent years, Virginia has been recognized as the most business-friendly state in America (Forbes.com 2006-2008), one of the best states for business (CNBC 2007 and 2008), the top-performing state government in America (Governing Magazine 2008) and the state where “a child is most likely to have a successful life (Education Week 2007).”

Earlier this month, the Commonwealth also ranked second in Directorship magazine’s first annual Boardroom Guide to the Best States for Business. The guide assesses the litigation climate in each of the 50 states, as well as the economy, tax climate, cost of living, education, and other measures. In Directorship’s study, Virginia ranked in the top 10 on quality of life, higher education, economy, and the state litigation ranking.

Chicago-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate is a full-service brokerage and consulting firm representing corporations in real estate matters on a national and international basis.

None of these accomplishments is possible without steady, pro-business leadership – at all levels.

UVA Named #1 in Nation as Best Public School in Terms of Quality to Value

January 9, 2009 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

I received this letter today from UVA President John Casteen;

The University is frequently recognized for offering an excellent education at a reasonable price. Last May, the Center for College Affordability and Productivity ranked us No. 1 among all national public universities.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranked us No. 3 nationally in “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” in December. U.S. News & World Report ranked the University No. 16 among all universities, both public and private, in its most recent “Great Schools, Great Prices” list. We have earned this reputation for affordable excellence by employing expert fiscal managers to handle our resources wisely, by attracting and retaining top faculty members, students, and staff, and by a commitment from our Rector and Visitors and women and men who work throughout the University to ensure access for qualified students from all backgrounds.

Our goal has been to provide a superior education at a fair price and to budget appropriate sums for financial aid for students from various economic circumstances. Through AccessUVa, the University’s financial aid program, we aim to level the playing field for our state’s and nation’s young people.

The current economic crisis poses special, often daunting, challenges to families who are increasingly hard pressed to pay education costs. This fall, 882 AccessUVa students enrolled in the first-year class, bringing the total number of AccessUVa students currently enrolled to 3,781. Without this program, which we hope will find imitators elsewhere, these students might not have been able to come here. We plan to continue to build this program in the years ahead.

Support from alumni, parents, and friends helps us sustain quality here even as we work to make the University affordable for all students, regardless of their financial means. For your commitment to this University and to the values it embodies, I am grateful.

John Casteen

Note: To read the USA Today story and view the Today Show segment on the rankings, click here.

Charlottesville Named by National Geographic as one of the 50 Best Adventure Towns

September 20, 2008 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

According to National Geographic, Charlottesville is one of the top 50 places to relocate right now and for the future;

A change of address can bring instant gratification. You could wake up tomorrow in Missoula and kayak off your own deck at dawn, sneak in singletrack at lunch in Chattanooga—or choose your own adventure in any one of the country’s best base camps. But a move is a long-term investment. So this year we selected 50 innovative towns that aren’t just prime relocation spots right now, but smart choices for the future. Not only do they have the action. They’ve got a plan. Now we’re giving you a plan too. Inside, you’ll find hometown picks that range from adventure 24/7 hubs loaded with outdoor options to urban players that offer a variety of jobs and cultural activities without sacrificing green space. You’ll also hear from recent transplants who made the move and have a better quality of life to show for it. So go on—get packing.

It remarks about Charlottesville;

“Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation.” So said resident Thomas Jefferson, and no wonder—he had the Blue Ridge Mountains out back. Today, University of Virginia grads follow his advice in the lush hills of Shenandoah, while city planners protect urban forest and build new trails.”
Population: 40,315 
Median home price: $279,500 

Go to read the full article here!

#18 Out of 100 Best Places to Live and Launch (CNN Money)

July 2, 2008 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

CNN Money just named Charlottesville #18 out of the 100 Best Places to Live and Launch! Mentioning the business-mindedness of the City, the college atmosphere, the great support and mentoring given to small business and entrepreneurs, and the beautiful history and scenery here, we rank in below only 5 other cities on the East Coast!

(more…)

Charlottesville is #4 on the list of the Best Affordable Suburbs in the U.S.

March 5, 2008 by Sasha C. Farmer Realtor · Leave a Comment 

According to Business Week, Charlottesville is ranked #4 of the Best Affordable Suburbs in the U.S.  Read the article here.  The criteria they used;

 All indices are based on an average of 100; cost of living and violent crime based on national average, test scores based on state average.