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Recent Announcments
Rankings Here's what everyone is saying about Lafayette, LA . . .2011
Airport of the Year - The FAA selected airports in their five-state Southwest Region (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) to be honored. In each of the five states, the FAA named a 2011 Airport of the Year to recognize outstanding contributions airports make to enhance aviation in their state. In Lafayette Regional Airport's case, they cited how the airport is maintained; ongoing projects that promote safety, security and customer convenience; annual FAA certification inspections and tri-annual disaster drills; growth of the airport through new tenants and airlines; paperwork such as grant writing and closeouts; and communication and partnerships with the various aviation agencies, such as the FAA Southwest Region and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development - Aviation Division. Source: FAA, November 2011
Best Performing Metro - Headlight, LLC conducted an analysis of employment trends from June to September 2011 to identify the US metros that experienced the highest job growth rates. Headlight analyzed seasonally adjusted data from the BLS' Current Employment Statistics Program released this October. Lafayette was ranked 16th on the small metros list. Source: Headlight, Inc., October 2011
Top Event in North America - Festival International (FIL) was named one of the American Bus Association's (ABA) Top 100 Events in North America for group travel in 2012. Winners are chosen from hundreds of celebrations, festivals, fairs, commemorative events, and more that have been nominated by ABA members. This is FIL's 7th time making the list. Source: ABA, September 2011 Fastest Economic Growth - A list compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed the top 15 cities in the nation with the fastest economic growth. Lafayette - ranked 6th on the list - had a GDP of $16.4 billion dollars, up 8.3% over the previous year. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, September 2011 Best Chamber of Commerce - Lafayette is home to the National Chamber of the Year, an honor bestowed to the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce at the annual ACCE Convention in Los Angeles this August. The chamber was chosen for excellence in operations, member services, and community leadership. Top Place to Live - Lafayette was one of America's "Top 100 Places to Live" in RelocateAmerica 14th edition of this annual list. This year, the firm focused on communities poised for recovery and future growth. For 2011, the team found the best communities that are well positioned for economic recovery, already experiencing strong economic recovery or have proven overall economic stability. Factors such as employment, education, community leadership and overall quality of life are strongly considered and all the data is examined to determine the Top 100. Source: RelocateAmerica, July 2011 Digital Media Cluster - Ten Places in the South were identified as cities where the digital media industry sector is successfully doing business. Based on workforce, public infrastructure, and business presence, Lafayette is among two other Louisiana cities that have earned this status. Source: Southern Business & Development, Winter (April) 2011 Best Places in LA - Three Lafayette Parish communities were ranked among the 20 Best Places to Live in Louisiana based on median household income (adjusted for cost of living); educational attainment (% of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher), and property crime rates per 1,000 residents (burglary and automobile thefts). The three communities were Youngsville (1st), Lafayette (9th), and Broussard (12th). Source: Yahoo AssociatedContent, March 2011 2010
Quality Education - The MBA program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette made The Princeton Review's "The Best 300 Business Schools" list. Source: Princeton Review, October 2010 Best Cities - The Lafayette MSA was ranked 11th "Best Performing (Large Metro) City in the nation citing 5-year job growth (ranked 6th), 5-year wage & salary growth (ranked 2nd), and 1-year relative high-tech GDP growth (ranked 4th) as key indicators. Lafayette was ranked 9th in 2009. Source: Milken Institute, October 2010City to Restart Your Career - This article investigates cities that are a great place to transition into successful second careers based on how small business friendly they are, the ease of finding a job, their high income levels, low costs of living, non-profit friendliness, and student friendliest. Lafayette is named 20th in this 30-city ranking. Source: The Daily Beast, October 2010 Recession-Proof Cities - This study named cities that are riding out the "Great Recession" and identified 20 metropolitan areas that since 2007 have shown positive growth across three economic categories: their overall employment, per capita personal income, and metropolitan area GDP. Source: The Daily Beast, August 2010 Great Place to Train Your Workforce - Approximately $5.5 million was awarded in IWTP training funds to Acadiana businesses in the 2009/2010 fiscal year. In addition, Acadiana small businesses were awarded approximately 1/3 of the total state allocation for Small Business Employee Training (SBET) workforce program, approximately $950,000. Source: LA Workforce Commission, July 2010 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
Best Places for Business and Careers - Lafayette's cost of doing business ranks 58th lowest and Lafayette ranks 3rd for 5-year annualized job growth among the largest 200 US metro areas. Source: Forbes Magazine, April 2010 Best Housing Market - Lafayette ranked fifth on the Housing Predictor's list of the ten best markets in the US. Source: Housingpredictor.com, March 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 2009 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 2004-2008 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 2005 Best 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. |
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