Fort Collins Awards

Just outside a vibrant city center is beautiful country, which is one reason why quality of life in Fort Collins so high.

Apparently, I was not the only one who thought Fort Collins was a special place when I decided to move here. The Fort has racked up a ridiculous number of awards in the last decade. Probably its most notable award was when Money Magazine proclaimed it in 2006 as the “Best Place to Live” in the U.S. of all cities with less than 300,000 people. Below is a list of some of its other awards.

• #14 Brainiest City in the U.S. as compiled by leading economist Richard Florida. (August 2010)
• #6 Best Place to Live in the U.S. (CNNMoney.com, July 2010)
• #3 Best Quality of Life for medium U.S. markets (Portfolio.com, June 2010)
• #1 Least Obese City in the U.S. (Gallup Poll, March 2010)
• 4th Best City to Find Love (MSNBC, 2010)
• 2nd Best Drivers in the U.S. (PDF, 72 MB) (Allstate, 2009)
• 2nd Best Place for Businesses and Careers in the U.S. (Forbes, March 2009)
• 2nd Best Place to Live in the Nation (Money Magazine, 2008)
• One of nine U.S. cities to achieve Gold Level designation in the Bicycle Friendly Community program (League of American Bicyclists, 2008)
• Best Place to Raise Kids in Colorado (Business Week, 2008)
• 3rd Best Place for Business and Careers (Forbes.com, 2008)
• #12 Smartest City in America (Forbes, February 2008)
• Recognized as one of eight Enriching Towns for Art and Music Lovers (Where to Retire, 2008)
• 5th Safest City in Colorado (CQ Press 2008 City Crime Rankings)
• Top 10 Digital Cities; Center for Digital Government, September 2007
• One of 30 Fast Cities, due to innovation and creativity of workforce; Fast Company magazine, July 2007
• 2nd Best Place to Retire (Love to Know, July 2007)
• 9th Best Place to Invest in Real Estate; Business 2.0, May 2007
• Top 10 College Towns for Grown-Ups; Kiplinger’s magazine, March 2007
• Named a Preserve America Community by First Lady Laura Bush, 2007
• One of America’s Most Walkable Small Cities; msn.com, 2007
• One of the Best Places for Business and Careers; Forbes magazine, 2007
• Fort Collins listed among the Top 10 College Towns for Grown-Ups; Kiplinger magazine, March 2007
• Fort Collins Ranked 4th among College Towns With Great Golf by Business Week Online (Golf Digest) – November 2006
• Fort Collins came in 9th on Business 2.0 magazine’s list of “Where to Buy Now” – November 2006
• #2 Safest Drivers in the U.S. (Allstate, 2006 & 2007)
• The #1 Best Place to Live in the U.S. of all cities with <300,000 people. (CNNMoney.com, July 2006)
• One of the nation’s top 10 towns to raise a family (Bert Sperling and Peter Sander’s Best Places to Raise Your Family: The Top 100 Affordable Communities in the U.S., 2006).
• Fort Collins has the 12th lowest levels of particulate pollution in the nation (American Lung Association, 2006).
• City of Fort Collins earns “Bicycle Friendly Community” national award (2005) by League of American Bicyclists
• “American Dream Town.” Fort Collins rated as one of the Best Towns in the U.S. (Outside Magazine, August 2005)
• Fort Collins & Larimer County Named Top Nature-Friendly Communities – June, 2005.
• Selected as 4th best place to live in the United States – Men’s Journal, April 2005.
• Officially designated as a “Take Pride In America Community” – March 2005
• City of Fort Collins selected as “Top Retirement Spot” by Where to Retire magazine – March/April 2005
• Fort Collins was designated a Preserve America Community by First Lady Laura Bush (2004) for its committment to historic preservation and celebration of our priceless cultural and natural heritage.
• City of Fort Collins Web Site: #1 in the Nation! – September, 2004
• “Top 5 Places to Retire” by MSN.com – July, 2003
• Fort Collins ranks No. 29 on the Forbes Magazine list of best places for business and careers in America’s small cities.
• Fort Collins ranks #4 of the 50 best places to live in the United states as selected by Men’s Journal, May 2003. (The criteria included the familiarity of a small town but with attractive amenities, good weather, location, all around livable and inviting.)
• Loveland/Fort Collins is the #1 Best Place to Reinvent Your Life (source: AARP Magazine, May & June 2003 edition).
• Fort Collins ranks 2nd in the nation as a digital city according to the 2002 Digital Cities Survey conducted by The Center for Digital Government. (The survey examines how city governments have progressed in adopting and utilizing digital technologies to improve the delivery of services to their citizens.)
• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recognized the Fort Collins Housing Authority as a “High Performer” through its Public Housing Assessment System for fiscal year 2001. “High Performer” status gives the Housing Authority preferred status for grants and results in reduced reporting and monitoring by HUD.
• ICLEI 5-Star Award for our efforts to reduce global warming and pollution – February, 2002
• 17th Best Place to Live and Work in America – Employment Review, June 2002
• Best Place to Retire – Retirement Places Rated, 1999
• 3rd Best Place to Raise a Family – Reader’s Digest, 1997 Special Edition
• 5th Best Economy Nationwide – Policom Corp., 1999
• 9th Best for Affordable and Accessible Golf – Golf Digest, 1999
  Ranked 10th on “Best Cities to Have it All” – A&E Network, 1999
• One of Top 10 Best Places to Retire – Money Magazine, 2000

Also allow me to mention that Old Town in Fort Collins was the inspiration for Main Street in Disneyland

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