By Craig McEwen, The Forum
Published Thursday, July 20, 2006

Fargo’s low-stress environment and quality schools play heavily into its 69th-place ranking among Money magazine’s 100 “Best Places to Live” edition released this week.

“Fargo’s highest-scoring area was ease of living,” said Tara Kalwarski, the magazine’s special projects editor. Education was the city’s second-highest attribute.

“Good-quality schools is something people look for these days when deciding where to live,” Kalwarski said.

Local officials say both are strong attributes of the community.

“Ease of living and education absolutely are at the heart of our strengths,” said Brian Walters, president of the Greater Fargo-Moorhead Economic Development Corp.

“We are a great place for families,” said Walters, who thought Fargo should have been ranked much higher. “I think they missed it by 68 points,” he said.

Money magazine has been doing its “Best Places” features for 20 years. “This year we decided to focus on small cities,” Kalwarski said.

This year’s installment set out to find small cities that have the best blend of good jobs, low crime, quality schools, open space, rational home prices and lots to do, the article states.

“You’ve got to be doing pretty well to make the list,” said David Martin, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Fargo-Moorhead.

“It’s more than just an honor. It’s an affirmation and a marketing opportunity,” he said.

Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker was not available for comment.

The study began by selecting 745 communities with populations exceeding 50,000, screening out cities of more than 300,000.

About 201 cities with low education scores, high crime rates, high housing costs, declines in employment or income less than 90 percent of the state median, were eliminated.

That left 90 small cities and 10 large cities to be ranked on several factors: job and income growth, quality of life, arts and leisure, incidents of stress-related ailments and ease-of-living gauges such as commute times, divorce rates, population density and weather.

Bismarck made the list at No. 77. Fort Collins, Colo., topped the list.

It’s not the first time Fargo has been recognized. In 2004, the city was mentioned in Money’s “What Makes a Place Hot” article that pointed out the city’s population resurgence.

In 2003, the magazine listed Fargo as one of the top 10 cities in the nation in which to start a business or get a job.
In 1993, the magazine ranked Fargo-Moorhead among the healthiest places to live, with one of the shortest commutes.

A year earlier, Fargo placed fifth in Money magazine’s list of top 10 metros, and Fargo-Moorhead placed in the top 10 list of the “Best Places to Live in America.”