Cornerstone Economic Development Rankings

Business Rankings

Inc. magazine ranked Jacksonville as the 12th Best Large City for Business in its April 2007 issue.
In the July 2006 issue of Forbes Magazine, Jacksonville ranked in the Top 10 Best U.S. Cities to Find a Job.
In April 2006, Jacksonville was recognized as one of the Top 3 U.S. organizations for “Leadership and Innovation” in economic development by CoreNet, the world’s premier association for corporate real estate and related professionals.
Southern Business & Development magazine recognized Jacksonville as the leading market for business growth in the South during 2006.
In the May 2006 issue of Business 2.0, Jacksonville was ranked in the Top 10 “Hottest Cities” that will lead job growth through 2015.
Jacksonville is consistently rated as one of the top "Hottest Cities in America" for business expansions and relocations by site consultants in an annual poll for Expansion Management magazine. Ranked #8 in 2006, Jacksonville has been in the Top Ten for eight straight years and is the only city to be ranked 1st three times.
In September 2005, Expansion Management magazine named Jacksonville one of the Top 50 “America’s Five-Star Logistics Metros” four years in a row- a ranking of the top cities for logistics in the United States.
In June 2005, Jacksonville made the Top 50 of Intel’s 3rd annual “Most Unwired Cities” survey for the U.S. cities and regions for the greatest wireless Internet accessibility.
For 2005, Florida ranks 4th among the 50 states on a Tax Foundation study of business-friendly tax climates.
Jacksonville ranked 26th on Entrepreneur magazine's list of Best Cities for Entrepreneurs in its January 2005 edition.
Jacksonville ranked 8th of the Top 25 Large Metropolitan Cities for Doing Business in America in the March 2004 issue of Inc. Magazine.
Jacksonville is home to three Fortune 500 companies, and leads the way in terms of Florida cities with the most Fortune 500 headquarters.
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranked Jacksonville 3rd best city in the nation for state and local personal tax burden in June 2004.
Jacksonville ranked 23rd in the national ranking of America’s Best Cities & States: The Annual Gold Guide to Leading Rankings 2004. Jacksonville was the top-ranked city in Florida. For individual rankings, Jacksonville was 6th in public safety and 10th in infrastructure.
Jacksonville ranked 1st for Best Business Environment for Medical Equipment Manufacturing according to a survey of site consultants published in the February 2004 edition of Area Development magazine.
Jacksonville has ranked 8th of the Top 40 Hottest Real Estate Markets for Business three years in a row by Expansion Management magazine.
Business Development Outlook ranked Jacksonville 43rd on their list of “Global Cities 2004”. Jacksonville was one of only 50 cities chosen for the list.

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Quality of Life Rankings

According to the April 2007 issue of Black Enterprise magazine, Jacksonville was named in the Top 10 Cities for African Americans.
Florida ranked 5th among the 50 states on a Tax Foundation study of business-friendly tax climates in 2007.
In January 2007, a Fit Pregnancy study ranked Jacksonville #16 among The Best Cities in America to Have a Baby. Jacksonville was rated as Most Stroller-Friendly City and Best City for Childcare.
According to "City Crime Rankings" published by Morgan Quitno Press in October 2006, the city of Jacksonville ranked in the Top Ten Safest Cities in the U.S. for cities with a population of 500,000 or more.
In the September 2006 issue of National Geographic Adventure Magazine, Jacksonville was named one of the Top 6 Beach Towns in the United States.
For the second year in a row, Jacksonville was named one of the Top 25 Arts Destinations in the country for 2006 by AmericanStyle Magazine.
Jacksonville was named one of the Top 5 “Up and Coming” Areas of 2006 by Good Morning America.
Florida ranked 4th among the 50 states on a Tax Foundation study of business-friendly tax climates in 2006.
According to the May 1, 2006 Newsweek cover story “America’s Best High Schools”, Stanton College Prep and Paxon High School were ranked 5th and 28th best high schools in the nation. Six area schools made the list and Duval County was the only school district to have two schools ranked in the Top 30.
In September 2005, America’s Promise, an alliance formed by former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, named Jacksonville “One of the 100 Best Communities in the U.S. for Young People.”
In the February 2005 issue of Men’s Fitness magazine, Jacksonville was ranked in the Top 20 Fittest Cities in the U.S.
Expansion Management magazine gave the Clay County School District a “Blue Ribbon”, rating it in the Top 29% of all school districts nationwide, in the 2006 Education Quotient Rankings.
Expansion Management magazine gave St. Johns County School District a “Blue Ribbon”, rating it in the Top 33% of all school districts nationwide, in the December 2004 Education Quotient Rankings.
Jacksonville was ranked in the Top 10 of Mobility Magazine’s Best Cities for Relocating Families for large markets, or metro areas with populations over 500,000 in July 2004.
Two of Jacksonville’s beaches - Jacksonville Beach and Katherine Abbey Hanna Park - were named to the Clean Beaches Council’s List of Clean and Healthy Beaches. (June 2004)

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