The home of West Virginia University continues to be tops in the country for places to live well.
The September 2013 issue of Kiplinger placed Morgantown as 7th among its “10 Great Places to Live” for job and income growth, healthcare, cultural and outdoor activities and proximity to major cities.
“Call it the city bad times forgot,” is the opening line of the Morgantown entry in the report.
Kiplinger, a Washington, D.C.-based publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice, discussed the city’s 4.2 percent unemployment rate— much lower than the national average – and points to the University and the WVU Healthcare system as well as Mylan Pharmaceuticals as responsible for job and income growth.
The report noted WVU Hospitals’ high ratings in specialties that include cancer and cardiology. U.S. News & World Report has ranked WVU Hospitals as the No. 1 hospital in the state and listed the healthcare provider as high performing in 12 medical specialties.
Other cities named in the list were Little Rock, Ark.; Anchorage, Alaska; Ithaca, N.Y.; Burlington, Vt.; Dubuque, Iowa; Bryan-College Station, Texas; Santa Fe, N.M.; Columbia, S.C.; and Billings, Mont.
Previous rankings for Morgantown include: “10 Best College Towns in America” by Business Insider, 7th best place for business and careers by Forbes, No. 7 in CNNMoney.com’s top small places to launch a small business, and one of the “9 Best College Football Towns” by ABC News.
