Morgantown, West Virginia, has been named the number 3 small city in America in a new book, The New Rating Guide to Life in America's Small Cities, achieving the third highest grades for quality in 10 areas: climate/environment, diversions, economics, education, community assets, health care, housing, public safety, transportation, and urban proximity. Mount Vernon, Washington is numbered 1, and Ames, Iowa is 2.
Bet you guys sure have been busy in the last 7 years! In 1990, Morgantown was listed at 32 in the Guide. Yet in 1997, Morgantown beat out number 4-rated Ithaca, New York; number 5-rated Traverse City, Michigan, as well as 188 other small cities that qualified for the guide.
So this year there's much to celebrate! In brief, here's just a portion of your glowing, eye-opening report card:
Median personal income in the area is 10% above that of the typical small city. Incomes have been very busy in Morgantown! Incomes rose 15.1% between 1990 and 1994, a rate more than five times that of income growth for the whole country.
Property taxes are 43% below the micropolitan median and 72% below the national average, while the cost of a house in Morgantown is 20% below the national average.
Residents enjoy a high level of public safety. The rate of violent crime is just 25% of the national rate and 56% of the micro median.
The close proximity to Pittsburgh provides Morgantown with a nearby big-city dose of arts, retail, and sports.
The Appalachian plateau makes for dramatic scenery, and the Cooper's Rock State Forest provides a popular area for hiking, biking, camping, skiing. and white-water rafting.
West Virginia University's medical center and school of medicine draw a high number of doctors and health care professionals to Mmorgantown. The ratio of medical specialists is more than five times the micro median, and nearly three times the national average.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Morgantown beat out many other popular American cities: Longview, Washington, listed 13; Key West, Florida, listed 69, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, listed 93.