New Chauncey, did you know….??
West Lafayette in Forbes Magazine's
Top 10 Smartest Cities in Nation
Based on Census data Forbes Magazine ranked West Lafayette as the 6th best educated city in the U.S. with a population under 65,000. Like the majority of the Top 10, West Lafayette benefits from Purdue University and the Purdue Research Park as both bring high paying science and technology jobs to the City which in turn
West Lafayette Census Figures from the 2005-2007 American Community Survey results:
- Total Population: 27,664
- Advanced degrees: 46.9%
- Bachelor's degrees: 30.3%
- Associate degrees: 3.3%
Or more than 80% of City residents have an Associates Degree or better.
attracts large employers like Nissan Chemical, Cook Medical, Nanovis, EDS, and Butler Chemical. The quality of life in the City is also a big consideration for most companies and the employees they plan to attract.
West Lafayette is one of only two Mid-West cities to make the list (#13 Wilmette, IL is a Chicago suburb), and is also the highest ranking of the three Big-Ten University cities (#13 Wilmette, IL is near Northwestern University and #15 State College, PA is home to Penn State).
Mayor John Dennis is ecstatic about the Forbes recognition saying, that "in today's market, any positive attribute a city has is helpful," He credited Purdue, the Research Park, the highly rated West Lafayette School Corporation, and our City's "incredible amount of diversity" as factors leading to the designation.
One of the most interesting findings included in the 2005-2007 American Community Survey is that while all of the other Top 10 cities have median housing prices well over $300,000 with a number approaching $1 million, West Lafayette median home value is $145,000 providing tremendous value for its residents. This fact combined with US News and World Report's May, 2008 finding that West Lafayette is in the Top 10 of the smartest places to retire, it seems West Lafayette may also be the smartest quality of life choice for people in any stage of life; education, career building, family raising, the sandwich years, and retirement.
The complete Top-20 rankings according to Forbes Magazine:
1. Bethesda MD
2. Wellesley MA
3. Palo Alto CA
4. McLean VA
5. Los Altos CA
6. West Lafayette IN
7. Potomac MD
8. Lexington MA
9. Mountain Brook AL
10. University Park TX
11. Brookline MA
12. Chapel Hill NC
13. Wilmette IL
14. Blacksburg VA
15. State College PA
16. Saratoga CA
17. Needham MA
18. Cupertino CA
19. North Potomac MD
20. Mercer Island WA
How Forbes ranked the cities: Forbes used the data from the U.S. Census 2005-2007 American Community Survey, which polled more than 2,500 regions with 20,000 to 65,000 residents about their educational attainment. The number of graduate degrees--including master's degrees, Ph.D.'s, professional degrees, bachelor's degrees and associate degrees--were each divided by the population of the town over age 25 and then weighted to give a final average for each location.
