Raleigh’s biggest accolades of 2013

Raleigh made it onto quite a few “best-of” lists during 2013. Here’s a list of the capital city’s accolades from the past year, from the city’s year in review:

  • Fifth on Forbes’ list of “America’s New Tech Hot Spots.” The report found that Raleigh-Cary produced 6.2 percent growth in science, technology, engineering and math related jobs over the last two years.

  • Highest percentage of bachelor’s degrees in the nation, according to Richard Florida’s study of metro regions

  • Third on the Milken Institute’s Best Performing Cities Index, which ranks the nation’s 200 MSAs on how well they are creating and sustaining jobs and economic growth.

  • First on the Human Life Project’s national rankings of America’s most family-friendly cities

  • Seventh on 24/7 Wall St.’s list of the 10 best-run cities in America. The ranking looked at the cities’ credit rating, violent crime per 1,000 residents and unemployment rate.

  • Fourth on Forbes’ list of America’s Fastest Growing Cities

  • Tenth on CIP.com’s ranking of Best Cities for IT Jobs

  • First on the Sunshine Review’s list of the best government websites in North Carolina

  • First on Forbes’ list of the fastest-growing Metropolitan Statistical Areas since 2000. Raleigh has expanded 47.8 percent since 2000, more than three times the overall 12.7 percent average growth.

  • Eighth most small-business-friendly metro area in the U.S., according to a survey of nearly 8,000 small businesses throughout the nation. The categories included: overall friendliness, ease of starting a business, ease of hiring, training and firing, tax code, licensing, environmental and zoning.

  • Second on a Gallup poll of the 50 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the nation asking residents if they “felt comfortable walking alone in their community at night.”

  • Second on NerdWallet’s list of the best cities for starting a small business. Raleigh’s highly educated population and low cost of living were touted for boosting it so highly in the ranking.

  • Third on Bloomberg’s list of America’s “boom towns”

  • Fifteenth on Forbes’ list of the World’s Most Inventive Cities, with 3.74 patent applications per 10,000 residents.

  • Fifth on Airbnb’s list of America’s most hospitable cities

  • Third on Forbes’ list of the Best Places for Business and Careers. Forbes touted Raleigh’s educated residents due to the proximity of Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.

  • Fifth on Kiplinger’s list of the top 10 most affordable cities, which found that Raleigh’s housing costs are nearly 31 percent below the national average.

  • Eighth on United Van Lines’ list of the top cities to which Americans are moving

  • Eighth on the Progressive Policy Institute’s list of the top 25 high-tech hot spots in the country.

  • Seventh on Payscale’s list of the top 10 best cities for high-paying jobs in the United States

  • One of Money magazine’s top five places in the nation to retire

  • Fourth largest increase in “workers in their prime” in the nation, according to a study by demographer Wendell Cox.