Light traffic, scenic river trails, the annual Riverfest celebration and mild winters helped Little Rock earn the top spot on Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s “10 Great Places to Live.”
The story will be published in the September issue, on newsstands Aug. 6.
The magazine analyzed metropolitan areas with populations of less than 1 million people to develop the list. Good jobs, reasonably priced homes, decent schools, great health care and manageable size were factors that Kiplinger’s considered in its ranking.
“Set between the Ouachita Mountains and the Arkansas River and known for its rolling hills and ubiquitous trees, Little Rock offers far more than a lovely setting,” the site said. “With a population of nearly 200,000, it has the amenities of a larger city but is small enough that you can feel part of the community.”
Little Rock beat Burlington, Vt.; Bryan-College Station, Texas; and Santa Fe, N.M., among other cities.
Kevin Stolarick, research director at the Martin Prosperity Institute in Toronto,Ontario, compiled the list for Kiplinger’s and said many factors make Little Rock a great city.
“When you start putting multiple criteria together, the place that ends up as number one isn’t number one on individual criteria, but it does well overall,” he said. “It is that kind of combination of things that makes a place stand out.”
He said Little Rock has a high number of doctors per capita, many creative workers, affordable home ownership and reasonable population growth, but temperature variation lowered Little Rock’s natural amenities score and diversity was less than in comparable cities.
Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola said at a news conference Thursday morning that he believes revitalization is one of reasons for the honor.
“It seems like … Main Street will [help] make us one of the great places in America,” he said. “It’s going to be an exciting place to work, to play, to raise our families and to have that wonderful urban experience.”
Stodola spoke in front of 315 Main St., where he announced the construction of32 loft apartments. They will join about 175 apartments planned for Main Street and in the 200 block of Capitol Avenue in the next two years. The development is being done in old buildings, some of which have been vacant for years.
Stolarick said Kiplinger’s sent reporters to each of the top cities on the list to confirm that residents’ stories backed up the data used to rank cities.
“If you ever want to convince someone of something, you not only need good numbers, but good stories,” he said. “You really have to think about both.” Information for this article was contributed by Jack Weatherly of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Business, Pages 27 on 07/26/2013