Two Colorado communities are ranked among the Money magazine’s : Louisville at No. 4 and Erie at No. 13.
Louisville, in southern Boulder County, got high marks for being in the job-rich corridor between Denver and Boulder, access to the great out doors and good schools. But with a median home price of $427,925 and median family income of $88,877, analysts acknowledged that “popularity comes at a price.”
Job growth was up 10 percent last year and the analysts noted major employers Sierra Nevada Space Systems and Pearl Izumi are at home there.
Among the intangibles?
Erie, a few miles to the north east, straddling the Weld County line, got praise for an easy drive to work in Denver and Boulder and a 30-minute ride to Denver International Airport. It also posted big numbers: 56 percent of residents have college degrees and median family income is $102,490. Job growth was up 14 percent and median home prices were relatively affordable for the neighborhood at $361,700.
The downside? Erie’s retail growth hasn’t kept up with the residential boom, which means people have to drive to shop.
The intangibles include a new library and recreation center. The analysts also cited festivals that let the growing city keep its small-town feel, but it is unclear why they cited an over the popular , put on by the local historical society, or the huge summer .
Analysts reached their conclusions starting with 3,625 towns with populations between 20,000 and 50,000, from which towns with family income less than 80 percent of the state average, those with more than 95 percent of one race and those with poor education scores were removed. Towns where family income is more than 210 percent of the state average or a median home price of more than $1 million were excluded, as were retirement communities.
The analysts ranked the remaining pool of 932 communities for job growth, diversity, ease of living, weighting most heavily economic opportunity, housing affordability, education and safety.
More data on health, taxes, real estate, culture and the economy was applied to the top 280 communities, as were limits including three towns per state and one per county. The results were sorted to represent all regions evenly.
Finally, the analysts visited towns and interviewed residents, assessed traffic, parks and gathering places, and considered intangibles, like community spirit.
