From Deseret News archives:
St. George is No. 11 on list of 'smart places to live'
"Places like St. George with a lot of natural beauty and desirable qualities will stay very much in demand," predicted Bert Sperling, who designed the database used in the survey results published in the magazine's May 8 issue. "Places like St. George are going to be pretty much immune to the bubble or bust theory."
St. George is ranked 11th out of 50 cities cited by the magazine's reporters and editors as a great place to live based on cost of living and housing, access to health care, the crime rate, weather, education, cultural amenities and transportation. The article and chart are available on the Web at Kiplinger.com/personalfinance.
Also making the magazine's Top 50 chart were Logan (15), Provo (21) and Ogden (49).
Scott Hirschi, director of the Washington County Economic Development Council, said many of the figures used in the magazine's chart are "way off."
For instance, said Hirschi, the chart includes an inaccurate population number for the city and an extremely low median home price of $144,800. The magazine states the city's population is 110,515, while it is closer to 63,000 residents. The estimated countywide population is about 125,000 residents.
"It (the home price) hasn't been that low in five years," Hirschi said, noting the median average price for a home in St. George was about $271,000 during the third quarter of 2005.
Sperling said the median home price was derived from data provided by the National Association of Realtors and included any kind of residential housing in the county.
"We also looked at the low end of home appreciation over the past year," he said. "That data is probably behind the curve a little bit. It's really for the whole county, so that brings the average median down a little bit."
Hirschi said Washington County and its cities continue to merit positive reports on job growth and future economic health.
"We've had three very positive reports in the media," he said, noting St. George is also featured as one of America's Job Hotspots, as determined by the Milken Institute Best Performing Cities Index.
In a recent article posted on CareerBuilder.com, St. George is rated fifth in the Top 10 small-cities index, which is used as a measurement of where jobs are being created in America. The index ranked both long-term (five years) and short-term (one year) measurements of job, wage and salary, and technology growth. The cities were also ranked on their ability to create and sustain jobs.
Inc. Magazine also ranked St. George No. 2 among 393 U.S. cities for the best place to do business. The rankings, published in the May issue, are based on recent and long-term employment growth rates.
E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com
