Wilmington NC Joins Top Cities In U.S.

Wilmington appears on several “best city” lists thanks to its vibrant economy and superlative quality of living.

The Milken Institute recently ranked the Wilmington area #51 in its list of Best Performing Cities. Each year the Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank, ranks major metropolitan areas based on factors of economic growth, including long-term and short-term measurements of employment and salary growth and indicators of high-tech output.

Yet perhaps the most impressive is the metro area’s long-term job growth. The Milken Institute ranked Wilmington #5 in terms of five-year relative high-tech GDP growth from 2004-2009; #8 in five-year job growth over the same period; and #8 in five-year wages and salary growth from 2003-2008.

Mainstream media has been jumping on the Wilmington wagon as well. CNNMoney magazine ranked Wilmington #7 of 10 on its Business 2.0: Top 10 Cities, Where to Move Now Listing for its 37% projected gain in home prices over five years.

Financial publication Kiplinger’s selected Wilmington as among 367 metropolitan areas to consider for its list of “Best Cities for the Next Decade.”

RelocateAmerica, a real estate website, ranked Wilmington among its “Top 100 Places to Relocate,” thanks to “warm temperatures, casual lifestyles and a touch of the ‘new south charm.’”

Outside Magazine included Wilmington on its 2012 “Best of the Best” cities list due in part to its “a renewed economy that has been fueled partly by an active filmmaking sector.”

Noting the area’s small town charm and big city amenities, Coastal Living magazine named Wilmington a “Coastal Dream Town.”