Owning real estate is all about location, location, location. And although times have been tough, one of things we can boast is the tremendous continuing appeal of Durango, Colorado. Towards the bottom of this message I've reproduced an article from the Durango Herald reporting yet another "top" award given to Durango. I must confess that I'd never heard of a "micropolitan" area, but, according to the below article, it is an area of less than 50,000 in population and Durango ranked no. 1 out of 576 of such areas. The award is for consistency in both size and quality of economic growth. So, a great big "shout out" for Durango, and while I'm at it, below you'll also see a partial list of other awards Durango has won over the years.
Durango Area Awards:
2011 "Best Town," Outside Magazine
2011 "Top 'Micropolitan' area in US," Policom
2011 "One of Coolest Towns in America," Men's Journal
2011 "Top Ten Western Towns," True West Magazine
2011 "Green Power Community," Environmental Protection Agency
2010 "Top Small Town for Meetings & Events," Meetings & Events
2010 "Governor's Award"
2010 "Top Ten Ski Resorts to Down a Local Beer," Away.com
2010 "The Top 20 Ski Resorts in America," Aroundme.com
2010 "Town to Watch," True West Magazine
2009 "Top 10 Places to Raise an Outdoor Child," Backpacker Magazine, CBS News
2009 "Best Places to Live in Rural America," Progressive Farmer
2009 "Top Ten Train Rides," Society of American Travel Writers
2009 "The West's 20 Best Small Towns," Sunset Magazine
2009 "Top 20 Romantic Getaways," Sunset Magazine
2009 "American's 200 best Hunting and Fishing Towns," Outdoor Life
2008 "Top Ten Western Towns," True West Magazine
2008 "7 Great Mountains to Ski with Your Kids," Ski Magazine
2008 "Governor's Award for Historic Preservation," Colorado Historical Society
2008 "Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community," The League of American Bicyclists
2008 "Colorful Colorado Award," Governor's Award for Downtown Excellence
2008 "Top 10 Christmas Towns," HGTV
2008 "Top 20 Resorts," Conde Nast Traveler
2007 "American's Dozen Distinctive Destinations," National Trust for Historic Preservation
2007 "next Best Places to Ski, Live, Invest and Retire," Ski Magazine
Durango named top ‘micropolitan’ area in U.S.
By Jordyn Dahl
Herald Staff Writer
It’s about quality, not quantity, is the takeaway message of an economic study that named our community the top “micropolitan” area in the United States. A micropolitan area is defined as one with a population of less than 50,000 people. Policom, an independent economic research firm specializing in local and state economies, did an analysis that ranked Durango No. 1 out of 576 micropolitan areas studied. Data used for the study included not just Durango, but all of La Plata County. “It’s outstanding that La Plata County is ranked so high,” said Joanne Spina, interim county manager. “We’ve been in the top 10 for the past four years and (the ranking) speaks to the diversity of our economic base.” Durango debuted in the top 10 in 2008 at No. 8. The city has continued to climb, reaching No. 3 last year. “It’s not unusual for Durango to go to the top,” said William Fruth, president of Policom. “Over an extended period of time, it’s shown a tendency of having consistent economic growth in size and quality.” The study looked at 23 different economic factors, including wages and earnings. The amount of public assistance going into each community also was factored in. Durango scored low in this sector, which reflects a strong economy, Fruth said. The Durango area has the second lowest per capita amount of Medicaid dollars coming in of any micropolitan area and one of the lowest per capita amounts of welfare dollars. Durango also scored well in earnings and wages, despite the city’s reputation of requiring people to have two or more jobs to make ends meet. In 2009, Durango’s average wage was 76 percent of the national wage. “Durango has improved relative to the national average wage every year for 10 years,” Fruth said. “It’s a sign that the quality of the economy has been improving.”
What industries pushed Durango to the top? The No. 1 primary industry in the Durango area is “mining,” or the extraction of natural gas. It accounts for 33 percent of the economy, with state government close behind. Farming accounts for about 10 percent, according to Fruth. Despite the decline in natural-gas prices, Durango Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jack Llewellyn thinks gas will continue to stimulate the economy, and BP, the county’s largest producer, will remain for the long haul. “BP will continue drilling in La Plata County as San Juan produces the most natural gas with the least amount of wells,” he said. “BP took rigs to Pennsylvania, but they are still using rigs to clean up wells here.” Another Colorado city, Edwards, fell from first to ninth for micropolitan areas and is the only other city in the state to make the top 10.
The study measures economic factors over a 20-year period. This year’s study took data from 1990 to 2009 – the most recent data released. Data analyzed was from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Policom first ranked micropolitan areas in 2002.
