Huntsville named ultimate jewel of Sun Belt; Birmingham ranks 35th in 'quality of life'
BYLINE: Ty West & G. Scott Thomas / acbj
The Sun Belt is an economic magnet. It's attracting new residents and jobs, as well as political and economic power.
But which of the region's metropolitan areas offer the best blend of comfortable lifestyle and warm weather?
American City Business Journals, parent company of the Birmingham Business Journal, analyzed the quality of life across the Sun Belt - defined as the area south of the 37th parallel - and ranked Huntsville No. 1 on its list of "Hot Spots," America's most attractive warm-weather metropolitan areas.
Out of 77 metro areas included in the review, Birmingham was 34th in the rankings, Montgomery was 20th and Mobile was 69th.
(For complete rankings and more information about the study's methodology, please visit www.birminghambusinessjournal.com .)
It takes a newcomer just one glance to discover that Huntsville is not your typical Sun Belt community. The 360-foot-tall Saturn V rocket towering above the skyline is a clue to the city's high-tech economy.
Banking, tourism and other service industries are driving economic growth in most Sun Belt metro areas. But Huntsville - the self-proclaimed Rocket City - is different.
The engineers who launched America's space program, led by Wernher von Braun, were installed in the northern Alabama city after World War II. They were followed by military and aerospace contractors, biotechnology firms and telecommunications companies.
Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County President and CEO Brian Hilson said this high-tech base has given Huntsville several advantages that are reflected in its No. 1 ranking.
Hilson said the type and scope of the technological jobs in Huntsville attract a very educated and stable work force to the area and also help retain young professionals and recent graduates.
"The combination of all that is over 400 technology-based companies that are really doing well, causing Huntsville and Madison County to be a leader in job growth," he said. "And because they pay well, (employees) can expect and afford a good quality of life."
Those assertions are backed up by the Bizjournals study, which found that:
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Forty percent of Huntsville's jobs are classified as professional or management positions, a large number of them in the engineering field. Only four Sun Belt metro areas enjoy a higher concentration of these desirable jobs.
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Thirty-one percent of its adults hold bachelor's degrees, putting Huntsville among the study's top six areas in the category of higher education.
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Per-capita income in the Huntsville area has risen by more than 20 percent since 2000, far exceeding the Sun Belt average of 16 percent.
Hilson noted that the results of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, or BRAC, decisions eventually will bring 4,700 jobs to Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal.
From a business perspective, Hilson said the attention Huntsville has received from national publications - including being named one of Forbes magazine's Leading Cities for Business - represents a strong marketing tool for the area.
"We use it to our advantage," he said. "In economic development, it is far better to have someone else say something nice about you than to say it about yourself."
While the state'e Rocket City shot to the top of the list, Alabama's other metro areas did not fare as well in the ACBJ ranking.
Birmingham, despite posting a greater increase in per-capita income growth than Huntsville since 2000, finished in the middle of the pack, due in part to its 0.3 percent increase in nonfarm employment since 2000.
Russell Cunningham, president and CEO of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the metro area likely would have fared better in the rankings if the study took into account several other factors that affect quality of life.
Cunningham noted Birmingham's moderate cost of living, available housing and access to the arts and quality health care, which weren't measured in this particular study.
Montgomery, which, like Huntsville, was bolstered by low property tax rates and strong per-capita income growth, was also one of the 25 metropolitan areas tagged as a Hot Spot on the list.
Mobile ranked near the bottom. Like many other areas that are recovering from hurricanes, Alabama's Port City was hurt in the ranking by a loss of jobs and lack of population growth.
The top cities on the list, in addition to Huntsville, were Naples, Fla., Raleigh, N.C., Fayetteville, Ark., and Sarasota/Bradenton, Fla.
American City Business Journals compared the performances in 10 statistical categories of 77 Sun Belt metropolitan areas south of the 37th parallel, which passes about 10 miles north of Virginia Beach, Va.