It was reported today in the Fort Collins Coloradoan that the city ranked No. 7 on bizjournals.com’s quality of life survey for midsize metropolitan areas.  The survey cited Fort Collins and Larimer County for ‘its high percentage of people with college degrees, a healthy entrepreneurial spirit and solid concentration of management jobs.”  The article went on to say that more than 40% of all adults in Fort Collins hold bachelor’s degrees.  Colorado stacked up well with 3 cities in the top 10.  Here are the Top 10:

1.  Provo, Utah

2.  Boulder, Colorado

3.  Madison, Wisconsin

4.  Bridgeport-Stamford, Connecticut

5.  Ann Arbor, Michigan

6.  Ogden, Utah

7.  Fort Collins, Colorado

8.  Boise, Idaho

9.  Colorado Springs, Colorado

10.  Des Moines, Iowa

 Fort Collins was again named one of the top places to live in the country by Money magazine.Fort Collins ranked No. 2 on “America’s Best Places to Live” this year, behind Plymouth, Minn. Northern Colorado made another showing on the list with Loveland ranking at No. 33. Fort Collins drew the No. 1 ranking in the magazine’s 2006 list. Rounding out this year’s top 10 were:

• No. 3, Naperville, Ill.;
• No. 4, Irvine, Calif.;
• No. 5, Franklin Township, N.J.;
• No. 6, Norman, Okla.;
• No. 7, Round Rock, Texas;
• No. 8, Columbia/Ellicott City, Md.
• No. 9, Overland Park, Kan.;
• No. 10 Fishers, Ind.

For this year’s ranking, Money used statistics from OnBoard and Bert Sperling of BestPlaces.net to analyze all U.S. cities with populations of 50,000 to 300,000. The magazine focused on elements such as income, diversity, crime, population growth, job growth, commute times, etc. Cities that made the short list were visited and residents interviewed to access intangible qualities such as vibrancy and sense of community.Other Colorado cities that were included in the Top 100 “Best Places” are Highlands Ranch at No. 12, Westminster at No. 44 and Longmont at No. 50.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/top100/