How do we rank?

[upstate29650]

America's Hottest Cities

6. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C.

25. Charleston-North Charleston, S.C. MSA

46. Greenville, S.C. MSA

Hot cities for Entrepreneurs

2 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC (Large city/metro)

4 Charleston-North Charleston, SC (Midsize city/metro)

8 Columbia, SC (Midsize city/metro)

9 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC (Midsize city/metro)

28 Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC (Midsize city/metro)

22 Myrtle Beach, SC (small city/metro)

58 Florence, SC (small city/metro)

68 Sumter, SC (small city/metro)

[krazeeboi]

I posted those rankings in the "SC's Economic Engine" thread.

[krazeeboi]

More rankings guys.

Inc. magazine has released its Best Cities for Doing Business list. Among midsized areas (94 in all), here's how we shake down for 2006 (which analyzes 2005 data):

12. Charleston

50. Columbia

81. Greenville

Charleston's blurb says, "Defense contractors and tech start-ups that support local military-research centers are surging. The Port of Charleston remains a draw for manufacturers, especially auto-parts suppliers and chemical processors."

The year before, Charleston ranked 28th, Columbia 88th, and Greenville wasn't ranked. Good to see all of our cities get a bump.

Among small cities, Myrtle Beach lands in at 43, Florence 177th, Spartanburg 189th, Anderson 191st, and Sumter 215th (of 233 cities in all).

The methodology can be found here.

[Jerseyman4]

Im sure Charleston gets that high ranking for it being a food service industry friendly consumer climate.

[krazeeboi]

And the the most sovereign Forbes "Best Places for Business" rankings were released today. Same typical pattern for our metros:

56. Charleston (ranked 1st among our metros for job growth)

91. Columbia (ranked 1st among our metros for educational attainment)

141. Greenville (ranked 1st among our metros for cost of doing business)

184. Spartanburg

Charleston also led the way among our metros in the following categories: culture and leisure, income growth, job growth, and net migration. Spartanburg had the lowest cost of living, and Greenville had the lowest crime rate and led in the colleges category. At first I was perplexed by that last ranking, but after learning that it is a measure of 4-year colleges in the area with extra credit for highly rated schools, it was understandable, as Furman always ranks rather high. I wish that category were more all-encompassing though, since the other three metros have more colleges on average, each with their own strengths.

Last year's rankings were as follows:

47. Charleston

68. Columbia

102. Greenville (which included Spartanburg and Anderson)

Too bad all of them got bumped down in this year's rankings, which I expected.

Here's the list for our smaller metros:

109. Myrtle Beach (1st among our smaller metros for job growth and educational attainment)

146. Anderson

152. Florence (1st among our smaller metros for cost of doing business)

175. Sumter

[gs3]

Great exposure for SC. CNN Money just ranked Greenville one of 7 top cost effective vacation destinations, along with Portland, ME / St. Lucia / Richmond / Knoxville / Banff, Canada / Denver. This on the heels of a similar ranking from Hotwire just months ago. Great exposure for SC!

http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/02/pf/summer_...tions/index.htm

[Spartan]

Great exposure for SC. CNN Money just ranked Greenville one of 7 top cost effective vacation destinations, along with Portland, ME / St. Lucia / Richmond / Knoxville / Banff, Canada / Denver. This on the heels of a similar ranking from Hotwire just months ago. Great exposure for SC!

http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/02/pf/summer_...tions/index.htm

I heard about that on the radio today. That is great news for Greenville.

[The_sandlapper]

More Rankings this year

Inc.com Boomtowns rankings:

54. Charleston-N. Charleston

67. Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach

then a huge drop off:

211. Columbia

301. Florence

319. Spartanburg

321. Anderson

333. Greenville

362. Sumter

Source:Inc.com

[goodbye]

Showing the irrelevancy of these lists once again. I find it hilarious that they rankFlorence, Anderson, and even Spartanburg over Greenville! One closer look would tell you something is rather fishy behind that list. The question they ask before giving their numbers is, "Which metropolitan areas are really booming?" I know for a fact that our major metros are booming faster than several they list higher up.

[krazeeboi]

^Does that correspond to the same rankings I posted in post #3?

[The_sandlapper]

Of course not, everyone only likes these kinds of list when their city does well. Other than that most people claim they are flawed. I say let the chips fall where they may.

Seriously why is one list less creditable than another?

[GvilleSC]

^^ You're right, but I'd have to agree with Skyliner though. I mean THIS LIST really doesn't make too much sense to me when Greenville County is growing much faster than Anderson, Spartanburg, and Florence Counties. I'm not disputing Columbia's ranking, or Charleston's or MB's here.

BOOMTOWN- according to dictionary.com is a label placed on a town that is experiencing an economic or population boom.

Take the stats:

Population:

COUNTY--------------------2004 est.------2000 pop.---%change from '00-'04--- %change from '90-'00

Greenville County:______401,174______379,616_________5.7%________________18.6%_______

Anderson County:_______173,550______165,740_________4.7%________________14.2%_______

Spartanburg County:_____264,230______253,791_________4.1%________________11.9%_______

Florence County:_________129,679______125,761_________3.1.%_______________10.0%_______

(source: US census bureau)

Economy:

COUNTY---------------------2005 Unemployment----------change from 2004

Greenville County_____________5.6%___________________-.3_______

Anderson County _____________7.5%___________________+.4______

Spartanburg County___________7.7%___________________+.1______

Florence County______________9.1%___________________+.9_______

(source: Bureau of Labor Statistics and LAUS)

Personally, after looking at what a boomtown IS and the figures for the four counties in question from the list... ALL indications point to Greenville County to be ranked higher than Florence, Anderson, and Spartanburg Counties-- which can be correlated to the respective MSA.

[g-man430]

You tell them, GvilleSC.

[gs3]

Here is a ranking that we shouldn't be too happy about. Crime. South Carolinas crime rates are some of the higher in the nation.

This is a 2004 ranking that came out in 2005. I'm looking for the 2005 which would have just come out in hopes that some progress has been made.

This ranking is the for the 25 metro areas in the nation with the worst crime. South Carolina has 5 metros on the list.....one fifth of the top 25 worst crime metros are from our state.....not good.

National rankings:

Columbia #10

Charleston / N.Charleston #12

Myrtle Beach #18

Florence #19

Sumter #23

http://encarta.msn.com/media_701500211/Met...ted_States.html

[krazeeboi]

We talked about crime statistics in this thread.

There's absolutely no way you can tell me that our metros have more crime on average than Atlanta, NYC, DC, Detroit, etc. The only exception may be Myrtle Beach, due to the number of primarily property crimes that occur there, generally by tourists. Statistics reporting play a MAJOR role here, and many cities do not report all of their data.

[distortedlogic]

Nevertheless, these stats (much like city population figures), are the ones that get recorded and the ones that people see.

[krazeeboi]

^You are correct. However, I believe the Morgan Quitno rankings are the most accepted as far as crime goes. The latest ones can be found here. Unfortunately, as far as metro areas go, Florence, Sumter, and Myrtle Beach still round out the top 25.

[gs3]

^You are correct. However, I believe the Morgan Quitno rankings are the most accepted as far as crime goes. The latest ones can be found here. Unfortunately, as far as metro areas go, Florence, Sumter, and Myrtle Beach still round out the top 25.

I think I'd tend to rely on the FBI Crime Report before I'd believe the Morgan Quitno.

[Spartan]

^^ You're right, but I'd have to agree with Skyliner though. I mean THIS LIST really doesn't make too much sense to me when Greenville County is growing much faster than Anderson, Spartanburg, and Florence Counties. I'm not disputing Columbia's ranking, or Charleston's or MB's here.

BOOMTOWN- according to dictionary.com is a label placed on a town that is experiencing an economic or population boom.

Take the stats:

Population:

COUNTY--------------------2004 est.------2000 pop.---%change from '00-'04--- %change from '90-'00

Greenville County:______401,174______379,616_________5.7%________________18.6%_______

Anderson County:_______173,550______165,740_________4.7%________________14.2%_______

Spartanburg County:_____264,230______253,791_________4.1%________________11.9%_______

Florence County:_________129,679______125,761_________3.1.%_______________10.0%_______

(source: US census bureau)

Economy:

COUNTY---------------------2005 Unemployment----------change from 2004

Greenville County_____________5.6%___________________-.3_______

Anderson County _____________7.5%___________________+.4______

Spartanburg County___________7.7%___________________+.1______

Florence County______________9.1%___________________+.9_______

(source: Bureau of Labor Statistics and LAUS)

Personally, after looking at what a boomtown IS and the figures for the four counties in question from the list... ALL indications point to Greenville County to be ranked higher than Florence, Anderson, and Spartanburg Counties-- which can be correlated to the respective MSA.

That makes no sense at all. Why would you show the % change from 1990 to 2000 and not give a 1990 population?

Nevertheless, these stats (much like city population figures), are the ones that get recorded and the ones that people see.

Per capita lists like this should always be taken in perspsective. Its not fair to compare Detroit to Florence, IMO. They are nothing a like. Even if Florence gets higher on the list, can you honestly tell me you'd feel safer in Detroit? I think not.

[krazeeboi]

I think I'd tend to rely on the FBI Crime Report before I'd believe the Morgan Quitno.

Those rankings are based on FBI data. The methodology can be found here.

[gs3]

Per capita lists like this should always be taken in perspsective. Its not fair to compare Detroit to Florence, IMO. They are nothing a like. Even if Florence gets higher on the list, can you honestly tell me you'd feel safer in Detroit? I think not.

Per capita does mean something. It means your chances in Columbia, Florence or Sumter of having a crime committed against you are greater than in Detroit. If 10 crimes per hundred people happen in Detroit and 20 crimes per hundred people in Florence.....that's something to take note of. I hope for the citizens of these cities that the local governments are working on this. Doesn't matter if it looks bad on a ranking or not, what matters is that it impacts citizens of several South Carolina cities.

[Spartan]

You are right to an extent, but I think that when you start to compare very large cities with very small ones that the numbers are misleading. Detroit probably has areas the size of Florence that are crim ridden. I think that if you are going to compare cities like that, then you must do it in the context that there are technical differences. That said, a comparison of SC's mid to larger metros to other similarly sized metros would be much more valid.

[Greenville]

And with that said, it is also necessary to avoid making blanket statements about a city. Detroit probably has some awful crime-ridden ghettos that are dangerous even in the daytime, but that doesn't mean that there aren't other areas of the city that are just as safe as a small town. It all boils down to knowing which areas are generally good ones and which areas are more likely to be crime-ridden.

I also agree that per capita statistics are a good place to start, with the above advice also considered.

[GvilleSC]

That makes no sense at all. Why would you show the % change from 1990 to 2000 and not give a 1990 population?

Are you kidding me? Yes, percentages can be very misleading, like how Greenville county added the most people between 2000 and 2004 I believe, but other counties grew more in percentage... so yes, BUT when Greenville county is already the largest in the state and grew by the largest percentage listed... you dont need number to show that it also grew the most in sheer numbers too. Besides why do you need a 1990 population when this is looking at what's going on now. I mentioned the percentage to show their trend coming into the new millenium. Give it some thought. It does make sense.

[Spartan]

When you post a percent change you should always post the resl numbers too. That makes sure there is no confusion.

Simply put: if a town of 50 gains 50 people, then it is 100% growth. If a town of 5000 gains 1000 people then it is 20% growth. Which town grew more? Statistics can be misleading if you don't include real numbers too. Thats why I don't like lists like these crime stats, because you don't really know what is going on behind the numbers.

Your point about the trend is taken, but numbers would have reinforced your point.