|
Home : Relocating : Lafayette's Rankings Here's what everyone is saying about Lafayette, LA . . . Awesome Summer Vacation - Bing Travel names Lafayette as their top Louisiana recommendation for summer vacations in each state. Source: Bing Travel, July 2010
Best of the South - Several Lafayette & Acadiana businesses & attactions were named as the best places to visit, eat, shop, and more. Lafayette was named "Best small city for a weekend getaway," Lafayette's Aaah! T'freres was named "Best B&B," Lafayette's The Juliet won "Best small hotel," Louisiana Cajun Country (Acadiana) earned 3rd place for "Best summer family destination," Lafayette's Wetlands Golf Course placed 2nd for "Best golf course," Lake Fausse Pointe in St. Martinville won "Best state park," Lafayette chef Patrick Mould placed 3rd for "Best local chef," Acadiana's The Mamou Playboys won "Best local musicians," and Breaux Bridge shop owner Jennifer Casanova won "Best local shopkeeper" with her southern hospitality managing Lagniappe Antiques. Source: AAA Southern Traveler Magazine, Jul/Aug 2010 America's Best Music Towns - In his Fourth of July article "High Notes: America's best music towns," Jim Harrington of The Oakland Tribune ranks Lafayette right alongside music meccas Austin, Seattle and New Orleans, and ahead of L.A., San Francisco, Nashville and New York. Source: Oakland Tribune, July 2010
Surviving the Recession - Lafayette was recently named one of "20 Cities Surviving the Recession" based on job availability and opportunity. Source: Mainstreet, May 2010
Best City for Job Growth - Lafayette was ranked #8 in the "Best Cities for Job Growth" listing among other medium-sized cities and 46th in the overall rank. The index is calculated based on Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data and takes into account recent growth trend, mid-term growth, long-term trend and momentum, and current year growth. Source: New Geography, April 2010
Happiest State - Louisiana ranks 1st in happiness ratings where a survey of 1.3 million people across the country collected data to gauge how satisfied people are with their lives. Source: Science Magazine, January 2010 Best Cities - The Lafayette MSA was ranked 9th "Best Performing (Large Metro) City in the nation citing job growth (ranked 22nd), salary growth (ranked 10th), and 5-year high-tech GDP growth (ranked 19th) as key indicators. Lafayette was ranked 14th in 2008. Source: Milken Institute, November 2009 Best Place to Launch a Business - Lafayette was ranked 2nd and one of only of 20 mid-sized markets in the nation for small business startups based on factors like a growing economy, affordable workforce, stable housing market, and low crime. Source: Fortune Small Business, October 2009 Best Places to Find a Job – Lafayette is the 8th best city in the U.S for job growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 with a net employment outlook of 9%. Source: Forbes.com, September 2009 Best Places for Business – The Lafayette MSA is among the 15 metro areas in the U.S. with the fewest small business bankruptcy filings between June 2008 and 2009. Source: Equifax, August 2009Hot Market in a Cold Economy - Lafayette is one of 18 markets in the south to make this list that identifies those locations doing well during the nation's economic downturn. Source: Southern Business & Development Magazine, May 2009 (Winter 2009) Smaller Markets for Foreign Investment - Because of Lafayette's international ties and foreign-based companies with local operations, Lafayette was named one of ten markets in the South that are most favored by major international companies. Source: Southern Business & Development, May 2009 (Winter 2009) Best Places to Find a Job - Lafayette is one of the top six metro areas with population of 200,000-plus based on unemployment rates and proportion of professional jobs. Source: Money.com, April 2009 Best Mid-Sized Cities for Jobs – Lafayette is ranked as the 3rd best mid-sized metro area for jobs citing job growth of 16.3% over the past 12 years, low labor costs and a strong energy industry. Source: Forbes Magazine, April 2009Business Startups - Lafayette is named one of the top 50 small cities in the nation to start a small business based on the number of small businesses and start-ups, workforce, universities and patents issued, among other measures. Source: BusinessWeek.com, March 2009 Best Places for Business and Careers - Lafayette's cost of doing business ranks 32nd lowest, income growth ranks 19th and job growth ranks 24th among the largest 200 US metro areas. Source: Forbes Magazine, March 2009 Employment Outlook - The Lafayette MSA was reported to have the highest new employment outlook (25% net employment) in the nation based on local hiring plans and unemployment situation. Source: Manpower, December 2008 Best Cities - The Lafayette MSA was ranked 14th "Best Performing (Large Metro) City in the nation citing job growth (ranked 12th), salary growth (ranked 1st), and high-tech GDP growth (ranked 29th) as key indicators. Lafayette was ranked 24th in 2007. Source: Milken Institute/Greenstreet Real Estate Partners, September 2008 Innovation Market - Lafayette was named one of the "Top 10 Great Innovation Markets in the South" for its efforts in nurturing and attracting innovation-driven industry and business. Source: Southern Business & Development Magazine, April 2008 Retail Sales On the Rise - For only the second time on record, Lafayette's total annual retail sales are more than $5 billion. The 2007 total - $532,207,035 - is 5.35% greater than 2006. And the year-ending December figure is the highest December on record (1997 is oldest recorded year). Source: Lafayette Parish School Board, February 2008. Construction Boom - The construction total for the 2006-2007 fiscal year, ending October 31st, was a record-breaking $493,768,778! That is $176,490,117 more than the previous year. The top 5 new commercial projects were all apartment complexes and some of the highlighted (permitted) projects include the south branch of the public library, LA Avenue's Target and JC Penney, new facilities for Cox Communications, Acadian Ambulance, and Atmos Energy, a new grocery store (Fresh Market), new industrial park (Hero's Point), surgical hospital, and car dealership (Giles Nissan). Source: LCG, Department of Planning, Zoning, and Codes. November 2007. Best Cities - The Lafayette MSA was ranked 24th "Best Performing (Large Metro) City in the nation citing job growth (ranked 10th), salary growth (ranked 16th), and high-tech GDP growth (ranked 15th) as key indicators. Lafayette also made the biggest jump in the index, from 143rd in 2005. Source: Milken Institute, September 2007 Workforce Training - The Lafayette/Acadiana region ranked first in the state for Incumbent Worker Training Program grants. 64 contracts totaling $8.53 million were awarded over the course of the fiscal year. Source: Louisiana Department of Labor, August 2007. Creative Class - Lafayette was named one of the top cities in the South for the "Creative Class," based on its commitment to technology, forward thinking, and cultural diversity. Source: Southern Business & Development Magazine, May 2007. Best for Business and Careers - Lafayette's Cost of Doing Business ranks 37th lowest among the largest 200 US metros. Source: Forbes Magazine, May 2007. Best Places for Doing Business – Lafayette was named the 127th best city in the nation for doing business based on job creation, job center diversity, and other business concerns. Among other cities of its size, Lafayette ranked 78th. Source: Inc. Magazine, April 2007 Quality of Life - Lafayette was ranked as a top 5 small city for Quality of Life among all North American cities with populations less than 500,000 people. Source: fDi Magazine, April 2007. High Per Capita Income - Lafayette's latest per capita income figure was $32,892 (for every man woman, and child). This is the 2nd highest income in the state. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, April 2007 Retail Sales Boom - For the first time ever, Lafayette's total annual retail sales are more than $5 billion. At $5,001,032,171, the 2006 total retail sales are 14.86% greater than 2005. Source: Lafayette Parish School Board, February 2007. Job Growth & Wage Growth - The US Department of Labor ranks Lafayette 2nd out of 325 large counties with a 7.0% increase in job growth from June 2005 - June 2006. In the same report, Lafayette ranked 6th for wage growth with a 9.9% increase in weekly wages. Source: US Department of Labor, January 2007 Low Unemployment - Lafayette Parish saw record-lowSource unemployment numbers of less than 3%, eight times in 2006. Lafayette Parish ended the year with the lowest unemployment rate in the State at 2.5%. Source: Louisiana Department of Labor, January 2007 Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs – Lafayette was named the 22nd best mid-sized city in the nation for entrepreneurs. Lafayette Parish ranked 38th best county out of the 718 small counties surveyed. Source: Entrepreneur Magazine, September 2006 The Forbes list of Best Places for Business and Careers - Lafayette's Cost of Doing Business ranks 35th in lowest cost among the top 150 metro areas. Source: Forbes Magazine, May 2006 Best Cities for Relocating Families - Lafayette was named the 6th best city for 2006 according to Worldwide ERC. The ranking was based on traditional factors such as commute times, tax rates and average home cost and appreciation. Also taken into consideration were more diverse cost of living and quality of life variables. Source: Worldwide ERC, May 2006 Top Supercomputers in the World - Lafayette's own Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) is home to the 371st best super computer in the world based on performance. Source: Top500 Supercomputer Sites, November 2005 Tech-Intensive Population - Lafayette achieved a rank of 225 out of all 3000+ counties in the US for being one of the most tech-savvy areas in America. Source: USA Today, October 2005Best Places for Doing Business – Lafayette was named the 68th best city in the nation for doing business based on job creation, job center diversity, and other business concerns. Among other cities of its size, Lafayette ranked 22nd. Source: Inc. Magazine, May 2005 Cities Rising Fast on the High-Tech Horizon – Lafayette was named the tech center in the South based on its appeal to and ability to attract high-tech companies. Source: Entrepreneur Magazine, October 2004 Cool Cities – Lafayette was named one of the 10 “Coolest Cities in the South.” Source: Southern Business & Development Magazine, Winter 2003/2004 See how the State of Louisiana stacks up; view the Louisiana Positives here. |
   |
Refer this page to a friend
Print this page