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Expansion
Management’s first annual Quality of Life Quotient might remind you
of reading Mobil Travel Guide’s America’s Best Hotels and Restaurants:
The Four- and Five-Star Winners.
Only, with our QLQ, it’s the 329 metropolitan
statistical areas across the nation, not hotels and restaurants.
And the subject, of course, is long-term
quality of life considerations for expanding or relocating companies, not
short-term lodging or brief dining experiences.
Still, Mobil and Expansion Management
do have a couple of things in common.
First, it’s all about travel.
With Mobil, it’s about where to stay or
dine during pleasure or business travel — with few expectations of continuous
long-term service. Maybe some return visits.
With Expansion Management’s readers,
it’s about expanding or relocating companies — and in their travels, the
expectation is always long-term relationships.
Second, it’s about high standards, quality
and service.
Mobil cites “commitment to excellence”
in its evaluation of lodging and dining establishments. Five-star winners
enjoy the distinction of offering guests a memorable, one-of-a-kind experience,
every time.
Expansion Management’s evaluation
of MSAs is also concerned with excellence, but of a more daily, permanent
nature rather than a transient memorable experience. Expanding and relocating
companies are looking for a quality home for business operations, and,
at today’s home prices, they can’t afford to make a miscalculated facility
decision.
For a better idea of what we consider
good business-quality-of-life, let’s look at the categories that determined
our ratings.
Five Star Communities
|
Anchorage,
Ak
|
Kokomo,
IN
|
|
Ann
Arbor, MI
|
Lafayette,
IN
|
|
Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah,
WI
|
Lincoln,
NE
|
|
Atlanta,
GA
|
Madison,
WI
|
|
Bismarck,
ND
|
Manchester,
NH
|
|
Bloomington-Normal,
IL
|
Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon,
NJ
|
|
Boston,
MA - NH
|
Minneapolis
- St. Paul, MN - WI
|
|
Boulder-Longmont,
CO
|
Nashua,
NH
|
|
Burlington,
VT
|
Nashville,
TN
|
|
Cedar
Rapids, IA
|
Omaha,
NE - IA
|
|
Charlottesville,
VA
|
Reno,
NV
|
|
Cheyenne,
WY
|
Richmond
- Petersburg, VA
|
|
Denver,
CO
|
Roanoke,
VA
|
|
Des
Moines, IA
|
Rochester,
MN
|
|
Dutchess
County, NY
|
Sarasota-Bradenton,
FL
|
|
Fargo-Moorhead,
ND - MN
|
Sioux
Falls, SD
|
|
Fort
Wayne, IN
|
Springfield,
IL
|
|
Hartford,
CT
|
Washington,
D.C. - MD - VA - WV
|
|
Huntsville,
AL
|
Wilmington
- Newark, DE - MD
|
|
Iowa
City, IA
|
Worcester,
MA - CT
|
|
Kansas
City, MO - KS
|
|
Four Star Communities
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY |
Lansing-East Lansing, MI |
| Bergen-Passaic, NJ |
Lawrence, MA-NH |
| Bridgeport, CT |
Lowell, MA-NH |
| Brockton, MA |
Lynchburg, VA |
| Casper, WY |
Nassau-Suffolk, NY |
| Champaign-Urbana, IL |
New Haven-Meriden, CT |
| Columbia, MO |
New London-Norwich, CT-RI |
| Columbia, SC |
Orange County, CA |
| Dallas, TX |
Philadelphia, PA-NJ |
| Danbury, CT |
Portland, ME |
| Dubuque, IA |
Portsmouth-Rochester, NH-ME |
| Elkhart-Goshen, IN |
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC |
| Evansville-Henderson, IN - KY |
Rochester, NY |
| Fitchburg-Leominster, MA |
San Francisco, CA |
| Fort Collins-Loveland, Co |
San Jose, CA |
| Fort Walton Beach, FL |
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA |
| Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
Sheboygan, WI |
| Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI |
South Bend, IN |
| Green Bay, WI |
St.Louis, MO-IL |
| Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, NC |
Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
| Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA |
Syracuse, NY |
| Indianapolis, IN |
Topeka, KS |
| Knoxville, TN |
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL |
| La Crosse, WI-MN |
Wichita, KS |
| Lancaster, PA |
|
Peace of Mind
Crime may not pay, and is costly both
for individuals and businesses.
MSAs were ranked on the incidence of property
and violent crimes, as well as the overall crime index.
When it comes to quality of life from
an individual or company perspective, low crime rates provide a sense of
security — an expectation that they may not fall victim to personal injury
or property loss.
Likewise, we believe peace of mind comes
from a little elbowroom at home or at work.
The neighbor in Robert Frost’s “Mending
Walls” says “good fences make good neighbors.” Like the first neighbor
in Frost’s poem, we are not fence advocates.
However, our QLQ places value on privacy
and open spaces. Low population density provides some of that space, and
with it, in our opinion, peace of mind.
Peace of
Mind
|
Rank
|
Metropolitan Area |
|
1
|
Wausau, WI |
|
2
|
Glens Falls, NY |
|
3
|
Fargo-Moorhead, ND - MN |
|
4
|
Williamsport, PA |
|
5
|
Yuma, AZ |
|
6
|
Grand Forks, ND - MN |
|
7
|
Johnstown, PA |
|
8
|
Eau Claire, WI |
|
9
|
St. Cloud, MN |
|
10
|
Bismarck, ND |
Give Me Shelter
Just as basic to the need for security,
according to psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs, is
the need for shelter.
Home ownership is also still pretty widely
accepted as a part of the American dream.
This category, the second most heavily
weighted in the QLQ, ranks MSAs on housing affordability for median-income
families and fair market rents for three- and four-bedroom rental housing
units.
And seeing as how we prefer ownership
to renting, housing affordability was given more weight than fair market
rents.
Give Me Shelter
|
Rank
|
Metropolitan Shelter |
|
1
|
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA |
|
2
|
Mansfield, OH |
|
3
|
Dubuque, IA |
|
4
|
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL |
|
5
|
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL |
|
6
|
Utica-Rome, NY |
|
7
|
Muncie, IN |
|
8
|
Youngstown-Warren, OH |
|
9
|
Tere Haute, IN |
|
10
|
Sioux City, IA - NE |
School Days,
School Days
As evidenced by Expansion Management’s
Education Quotient, we place a high premium on education.
Accordingly, our QLQ recognizes the value
of adult education in the overall quality of life in the MSA.
MSAs with higher levels of high school
and four-year college graduates among the 25 years and older population
ranked higher in this category.
School Days, School Days
|
Rank
|
Metropolitan Area |
|
1
|
Boulder, Longmont, CO |
|
2
|
Iowa City, IA |
|
3
|
Lawrence, KS |
|
4
|
Madison, WI |
|
5
|
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO |
|
6
|
Columbia, MO |
|
7
|
Champaign - Urbana, IL |
|
8
|
Fort Walton Beach, FL |
|
9
|
Rochester, MN |
|
10
|
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA |
Comfortable
Living
The most heavily weighted category in
the QLQ, our comfortable living rankings address the ability of families
and individuals to meet their financial needs and desires.
Median family income, per capita income,
and per capita disposable income levels were combined with cost of living
adjustments, state/local tax burdens, family and individual poverty levels,
and unemployment rates to rank the MSAs.
Comfortable Living
|
Rank
|
Metropolitan Area |
|
1
|
Sioux Falls, SD |
|
2
|
Manchester, NH |
|
3
|
Nashua, NH |
|
4
|
Portsmouth-Rochester, NH-ME |
|
5
|
Richmond-Petersburg, VA |
|
6
|
Roanoke, VA |
|
7
|
Wilmington-Newark, DE-MD |
|
8
|
Nashville, TN |
|
9
|
Boston, MA-NH |
|
10
|
Lowell, MA-NH |
Employment Opportunity
Index
In maybe a slight deviation from other
quality of life studies, our QLQ put on employer-colored glasses to look
at the employment potential in the MSAs.
From a business perspective, lower average
annual wages can mean lower employment costs, and more opportunity for
a company to become the employer-of-choice in the local labor market.
Higher unemployment rates can mean a buyer’s
market in the
labor pool, and, tempered by
higher levels of high school and
college graduates, can mean an
available and skilled labor
force and lower training costs.
A higher proportion of 18 to 34-year-olds
in the population can mean plentiful young workers, mature middle managers,
and potential for employees and the company to grow together.
And if these factors don’t mean quality
of life for your business, we’ve failed Intro to Business 101.
Employment Opportunity Index
|
Rank
|
Metropolitan Area
|
|
1
|
Lawrence, KS |
|
2
|
Flagstaff, AZ-UT |
|
3
|
Las Cruces, NM |
|
4
|
Provo-Orem, UT |
|
5
|
Lawton, OK |
|
6
|
Fort Walton Beach, FL |
|
7
|
Pocatello, ID |
|
8
|
Bellingham, WA |
|
9
|
Hattiesburg, MS |
|
10
|
Jacksonville, NC |
TRACED (TRaining
and Adult Continuing EDucation) Opportunity Index
The QLQ gives credit to MSAs that provide
opportunities for employee training and adult continuing education.
MSA scores were proportionally adjusted
based simply on the availability of two-year associate’s degree, four-year
bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctoral-granting institutions of
higher learning.
This category emphasizes the role of junior
or community colleges in employment training programs as well as adult
education, but also recognizes the increasing value of local four-year
and greater degree-producing programs in retention and recruitment efforts.
Have Hub, Can
Travel
Our travel category is defined by the
availability of large, medium and small hub airports as qualified by the
Federal Aviation Administration in terms of air carrier passenger enplanements.
The 29 large, 42 medium and 68 small hub
airports account for over 97 percent of the total U.S. enplanements from
451 FAA-towered and federal contract tower airports, compared to less than
3 percent enplaned at the remaining non-hub airports.
These qualifications identify those MSAs
that are most suited to long-distance passenger travel, whether for pleasure
or business trips.
MSA scores were proportionally adjusted
based on the local presence of large, medium and small hub airports.
Final rankings
What does it all mean?
The overall QLQ defines those MSAs that
provide superior quality of life to employees and employers alike.
So visit a five- or four-star community,
and prepare for a long and satisfying stay.
You may never leave.
For the Special 1999 Ratings Issue contact
knichols@newhope.com. |