Market Scope

Bluegrass Rankings

Lexington Names 48th Best City To Live In Entire World: The analysis, by Mercer Consulting, is part of the annual “World Wide Quality of Living Survey”. Each city is based on an evaluation of 39 criteria.

BUSINESS CLIMATE
Based on the 2006 Forbes Best Places study, when it comes to cost of doing business, Lexington is the second best place in the country to locate a company. Lexington has held the ranking the past three years.

Best Places in Terms of Business Costs:
1. Albuquerque, NM
2. Lexington, KY
3. Hickory, NC
4. Oklahoma City, OK
5. Tulsa, OK

Competitive Alternatives is KPMG’s comprehensive guide for comparing business costs in North America. The study measured the combined impact of 27 location sensitive business operating costs, such as labor, taxes, and utility costs. In the 2006 study, Lexington ranked 3rd in lowest cost for North America.

Most Economical Cities to Conduct Business:
1. Dothan, AL
2. Greeneville, SC
3. Lexington, KY
4. Lima, OH
5. Charleston, WV
6. Jackson, MS
7. Nashville, TN
8. Atlanta, GA
9. Cheyenne, WY
10, Lincoln, NE

The Lexington MSA has been ranked as a 5-Star Business Opportunity Metro in the 2007 Expansion Magazine Mayor’s Challenge. The ranking looks at the best cities in terms of business climate. The ranking’s criteria was based on seven studies that Expansion magazine published throughout the year. “Those rankings compared all 362 MSA’s in the areas of education, health, transportation and logistics infrastructure, quality of life, government influences on the business climate, and, finally, the metro’s reputation among prominent corporate site location consultants.” Lexington also ranked as a 5-Star Metro in 2006.

Lexington - #11 for Most Educated Workforce in the nation by Business Facilities. Having a well educated workforce at your disposal is an attractive proposition for companies in almost any industry. Business Facilities looked at the workforce 25 years and older with a high school diploma, bachelor’s degree and an advanced degree. The degree attainment counted for 55%, 33.9% and 16.7% respectively.

Most Educated Workforce:
1. Charlotte, NC
2. St. Paul, MN
3. Seattle, WA
4. San Diego, CA
5. Wichita, KS
6. Portland, OR
7. Colorado Springs, CO
8. Honolulu, HI
9. Albuquerque, NM
10. Tulsa, OK
11. Lexington, KY

Lexington is among the top 25 Best Places for Business and Careers in the nation. Lexington’s 21st place ranking is down slightly from last years 11th place ranking. Forbes Magazine’s seventh annual ranking is based on income and job growth, cost of doing business, qualifications of the labor pool, crime rates, living costs, and net migration.

Best Places for Business and Careers:
1. Albuquerque, NM
2. Raleigh, NC
3. Houston, TX
4. Boise, ID
5. Knoxville, TN
6. Phoenix, AZ
7. Nashville, TN
8. Durham, NC
9. Fayetteville, AR
10. Indianapolis, IN
11. Lexington, KY

Best Cities for Entrepreneurs (Midsize) :
1. El Paso, TX
2. Tucson, AZ
3. Birmingham, AL
4. Charleston, SC
5. Mobile, AL
6. Madison, WI
7. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
8. Columbia, SC
9. Greeneville, SC
10. Tulsa, OK
30. Lexington, KY

Blue Grass Airport, based on data from Airport Council International, ranked 5th in the U.S. for growth in passengers and 7th in North America. The airport saw a 19% increase in passenger activity in 2003.

Lexington is one of the top cities with the highest educational attainment in the country. Based on the 2000 Census, 35.6% of the population 25 years or older has at least a Bachelor’s Degree. This makes Lexington’s population the 8th most highly educated in the nation.

Cities with the Highest Educational Attainment:
1. Seattle, WA
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Raleigh, NC
4. Austin, TX
5. Washington DC
6. Minneapolis, MN
7. Charlotte, NC
8. Lexington, KY
9. Boston, MA
10. San Diego, CA

INCOME GROWTH (Per Capita Personal Income Growth)

WAGES BY INDUSTRY (Average Weekly Wages)

MAJOR EMPLOYERS

POPULATION
The US Bureau of the Census, 2000 Census results measure out population at 260,512 and estimate the 2006 population to be 270,789. These numbers confirm growth of more than 35,000 people over the last decade, a growth rate of 15.60%. Population experts often cite our superior quality of life as the main reason for the rapid growth.

COST OF LIVING (Participating Cities, Third Quarter 2007)