Community Accolades

2010

  • Blacksburg/Christiansburg MSA ranked 28th “Best Small Place for Business and Careers” (Forbes.com, 2010)
  • Blacksburg named a Top Ten  "Best Affordable Mountain Town for Retirement" (US News & World Report, 2010)

2009

  • Blacksburg/Christiansburg MSA rises 43 spots to become the 49th "Best-Performing Small City" of 2009 (Milken Institute, 2009).
  • Blacksburg/Christiansburg MSA ranked 31st “Best Small Place for Business and Careers” (Forbes.com, 2009)
  • Blacksburg named 14th “Most Educated Small Town in America” (Forbes.com, 2009)
  • Blacksburg rated a "Best Place to Retire" (USNews.com, 2009)

2008

  • Blacksburg ranked 43rd “Best Place to Live and Launch” (Money.cnn.com, 2008)
  • Virginia Tech KnowledgeWorks dubbed "Most Promising New Incubator" (Science Alliance Conference on Best Practices in Science-Based Incubation, 2008)
  • Virginia Tech ranked 42nd in the nation for its “$366.9 Million in Research Expenditures” for 2007 (National Science Foundation, 2008)
  • Blacksburg High School ranked in the “Top 5% of the Nation's Schools” (Newsweek, 2008)

2007

  • Blacksburg/Christiansburg MSA ranked the 6th “Top Small Counties for Recruitment and Attraction” (Expansion Management Magazine, May/June 2007)
  • Blacksburg MSA named one of the top 72 “5-star Quality of Life Metros” in the United States (Expansion Management Magazine, June 2007, 2006, 2005)

2006

  • The Blacksburg MSA designated a "5-Star Business Opportunity Metro” (Expansion Management Magazine, July 2006).

2005

  • Blacksburg MSA ranked the 18th “Fastest Growing Retail Markets” from 1998 to 2003 (Research Review, V.12, No.2, 2005)
  • Blacksburg MSA ranked 14th “Best Educated Technical Workforce” (Expansion Management Magazine, May 2005).
  • Blacksburg MSA listed one of the 74 “Five-Star Knowledge Worker Metros” (Expansion Management Magazine, May 2005).

2004

  • Blacksburg MSA ranked 8th “Best Emerging MSA” (Edition of Cities Ranked and Rated, 2004).
  • In 2004, Virginia Tech’s 120-acre Corporate Research Center (CRC) was named one of three national finalists for the "Excellence in Technology-led Economic Development Award" granted by the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

2003 and Prior

  • Blacksburg recognized as one of America’s “Top Ten Dream Towns” (Outside Magazine, October 2001).
  • The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center is an internationally recognized “Best Practice Research Park” (National Council for Urban Economic Development, 1997).

Are we missing any? If so, let us know.

Email community accolades to:  info@yesmontgomeryva.org

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