See below for statewide and city-specific accolades Georgia has received.
STATEWIDE - 2009
NEW Entrepreneurial Activity
No. 1: Georgia
Source: Kauffman Foundation, 2009
NEW Busiest Airport for Most Passengers and Flights
No. 1: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in 2008
Source: Airports Council International, July, 2009
NEW Job and Business Growth
No. 4: Georgia
Source: Chief Executive Magazine, 2009
NEW America's Top States for Business '09
No. 10: Georgia
Source: CNBC
cities - 2009
atlanta
NEW Best Cities to Be a Movie Maker
No. 2
Source: MovieMaker, March 2009
NEW Cities with Most Fortune 500 Companies
No. 4 (tie) with 13
Source: Forbes Magazine, 2009
NEW Best Start-Up City
No. 7
- "...Atlanta (is) prime real estate for entrepreneurs with franchise dreams."
Source: Entrepreneur Magazine
NEW Best Places for Business & Careers
No. 24
Source: 11th annual ranking by Forbes Magaziine, 2009
NEW Top 25 Tech Centers in America
No. 23: Atlanta
Source: Bizjournals
JOHNS CREEK
NEW Wealthiest City in Georgia
No. 1: Johns Creek (95th nationally)
- City is only three years old
Source: Bizjournals
Savannah
NEW Best Places for Business & Careers
No. 57: (Up from No.90 in 2008)
Source: 11th annual ranking by Forbes Magaziine, 2009
TRAVEL
NEW Top Romantic Island Inns
No. 10: Jekyll Island Club Hotel, Jekyll Island, Georgia
Source: Coastal Living, February, 2009
NEW Savannah's No. 1 Attraction
The Mansion on Forsyth Park's 700 Kitchen Cooking School
Source: TripAdvisor, 2009
STATEWIDE - 2008
Best Managed State in the Southeast – overall Grade B+
Individually:
Money B+
People A-
Infrastructure B
Information B+
Source: Pew Center in the States and Governing Magazine
No. 1 in U.S. for Workforce Training
Georgia's Quick Start program
Source: Expansion Magazine, 2008
Fiscal Policies
No. 1: Georgia
Source: Laffer Report, 2008
NEW Business Climate
No. 3: Georgia
Source: Development Counselors International
NEW Job and Business Growth
No. 4: Georgia
Source: Chief Executive Magazine, 2009
NEW Economic Dynamism for Innovative, Fast-Growing Firms
No. 4: Georgia
- Georgia moves up 13 places in one year
Source: State New Economy Index, 2008
NEW Best State for Business
No. 5: Georgia
- The state moved from 15th to 5th place and Georgia finished in the top 10 in four of the six categories examined (economic climate, growth prospects, labor supply and regulatory environment).
Source: Forbes , 2008
NEW Most Pro-Business State
No. 7: Georgia
Source: Pollina Corp. Real Estate, 2008
NEW Best State to Do Business In
No. 8: Georgia
Source: CNBC, 2008
cities
Most Inexpensive U.S. City to Do Business
No. 1: Atlanta
Source: KMPG auditing and consulting firm study
NEW Top Destinations
No. 9: Atlanta
- Georgia saw a 36% increase in people coming to the state vs. leaving
Source: RElocation.com. 2008
Sea Ports (Savannah & Brunswick)
“Fastest –growing port in the country” (first three quarters of 2007)
Georgia Ports grew 25.5% in the first three quarters of 2007 versus the national average of 4.8%
Source: Port Import Export Reporting Service (PIERS)
Fastest Growing Cities in America (for 2006-2007)
No. 2 Metro Atlanta (29 counties)
No. 4 Gainesville
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Best Place to Live and Launch a Business
No. 3: Buford
Source: Fortune Small Business for CNNMoney.com
Best Places for Business and Careers
No. 6: Atlanta
Sources: Forbes.com
Fastest Growing County in the U.S.
No. 10: Jackson County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Best Small Places for Business and Careers
No. 13: Athens
Source: Forbes.com
Diversity - Top 40 Best Companies
Aflac Insurance – Columbus
The Coca-Cola Co. – Atlanta
United Parcel Service (UPS) – Atlanta
Source: Black Enterprise magazine
America's 10 Fastest Growing Counties
No. 8: Forsyth Co.
No. 9 Paulding Co
No.10: Jackson Co.
Georgia has 18 of the fastest growing counties in the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
TRAVEL
Top 10 Sexiest Hotels in America
Savannah's The Mansion on Forsyth Park
- "... the Mansion on Forsyth Park in Savannah is seriously sexy."
Source: Forbes Traveler, 2008
Statewide - 2007
No. 1: Workforce Training Program
Source: Expansion Management's 9th Annual State Work Force Training Programs Consultant Poll
No. 1: Fastest growing state in the Southeast in 2007 (No. 5 nationally)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
No. 2: States in the U.S. with the Best Business Climate
Source: Site Selection magazine
No. 3: States in the U.S. for Best Business Environment
Source: Site Selection magazine (survey of corporate site seekers)
No. 3: Top States in the South with the Most Fortune 500 Headquarters (No. 11 nationally)
Source: Fortune Magazine
No. 3: Top Five States with Highest Rate of Entrepreneurial Activity
Source: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Ranked No. 4 among America’s Top States for Business - Overall
Individually:
No. 2: Workforce
No. 3: Transportation.
No. 9: Cost of Living
Source: CNBC.com
No. 6: America’s Ten Most Business-Friendly States
Source: Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Inc.
No. 12: Small Business Survival Index (for best entrepreneurship climate)
Source: Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (up from No. 25 in '06)
15: Georgia Companies named to Fortune 500
Home Depot - Atlanta
United Parcel Service - Atlanta
The Coca-Cola Co. - Atlanta
Coca-Cola Enterprises - Atlanta
Delta Air Lines Inc. - Atlanta
Aflac Insurance - Columbus
Southern Co. - Atlanta
SunTrust Banks - Atlanta
Genuine Parts - Atlanta
Mohawk Industries Inc. - Calhoun
Newell Rubbermaid - Atlanta
Beazer Homes USA Inc. - Atlanta
AGCO Corp. - Atlanta
BlueLinx Holdings Inc. - Atlanta
Mirant Corp. - Atlanta
Source: Fortune Magazine
20: Number of “fastest growing private companies”
Source: Inc. 500’s 26th annual rating
ATLANTA
2008
No. 1: America’s most wired city
Source: Forbes.com
No. 4: Best City for Jobs
Source: Forbes.com
2007
No. 1: America’s most wired city
Source: Forbes.com
No. 3: Cities with Most Fortune 500 headquarters (15)
Source: Fortune Magazine
No. 3: Forbes Best U.S. Cities for Young Professionals
Forbes.com
No. 4 Fastest Growing City – (21+% since 2001, median home price: $175,500) Source: Forbes.com
No. 3: Fulton Co. (Atlanta) Digital County for Exceptional Use of Technology
Source: Center and the National Association of Counties (NACo).
No. 13: Fulton Co. (Atlanta) Large County for Recruitment and Attraction
Source: May-June Expansion Management
Top Economic Development Hot Spots
Source: Expansion Management and the National Policy Research Council
GEORGIA CITIES
2008
No. 3: Valdosta-Lowndes County metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in its class designation for new and expanding industry.
Source: America by Site Selection Magazine
2007
Top 25 Arts Destinations
No. 5: Atlanta - Big Cities
No. 10: Savannah - Mid-Sized Cities
No. 24: Athens - Mid-Sized Cities
Source: American Style Magazine Readers’ Poll
Kennesaw: "Top 10 Best Towns for Families"
Source: Family Circle Magazine
Peachtree City: Top 100: Top 100 Places to Live
Source: Relocate-America.com
Rome: Top 100 Places to Live
Source: Relocate-America.com
Best places in the nation for business and foreign investment
Source: Forbes Magazine
EDUCATION
2008
Georgia Institute of Technology - Atlanta
• Ranked seventh among the nation's public universities for undergraduates and is a top 10 public university for the 9th consecutive year.
• Georgia Tech has the nation’s largest college of engineering with four programs ranked in the top five:
• No. 1: Industrial Engineering
• No. 2: Aerospace Engineering
• No. 3: Biomedical Engineering
• No. 5: Civil Engineering
Source: U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” guide
Emory University - Atlanta
• Rated 17th among 248 national universities
• Goizueta Business School is No. 12 among undergraduate business programs
Source: U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” guide
University of Georgia - Athens
Ranked 20th among public universities
Source: U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” guide
Georgia State University - Atlanta
• FlexMBA program is a top ten program nationally for more than a decade
Source: U.S. News & World Report's "Best College Guide"
• J. Mack Robinson College of Business is the 9th largest in the U.S.
Source: GSU
2007
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College - Tifton
Ranked 10th best community college in the nation
Source: Washington Monthly