#3 city in U.S. to look for a job in healthcare, sales, the trucking industry, or restaurant business by Beyond.com
Bloomington was ranked #1 in the State of Illinois and #28 nationally on Forbes list of "The Best Small Places for Business and Careers."
Bloomington has been recognized by CNN Money as a top ranked small city to live in for 2012.
Bloomington was ranked as one of the 25 Best Places for a Working Retirement by Forbes Magazine.
Bloomington was ranked the 2nd best city for singles by Kiplinger. In their "Best Cities for Singles" rankings, Kiplinger explained, "Bloomington singles hearken back to some charming heartland ideal: Well educated, well paid and exceptionally nice."
2011
"Convergence of Purpose," the Lincoln-Fell-Davis statuary group in front of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts was honored with a 2011 Governor's Home Town Award. The life-size statuary group was honored in "recognition of the effort that went into the planning, fundraising and installation of this unique tribute to the local Lincoln legacy."
State Farm Insurance Cos. was ranked second in a J.D. Power and Associates survey of auto insurance customers, jumping five places from last year. COUNTRY Financial ranked sixth, up five places since 2009.
Illinois Wesleyan University was named the 57th-best value among private liberal arts colleges in the latest Kiplinger's Personal Finances ‘Best Values in Private Colleges’ listing. Kiplinger's names the top 100 private liberal arts colleges based on a combination of factors intended to measure academic quality and affordability.
Bloomington-Normal was named one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People, according to The America's Promise Alliance and ING. Bloomington-Normal was the only community in Illinois to receive the designation.
Bloomington-Normal was ranked the 17th geekiest city in the United States by The U.S. National Science Foundation. In the "Science and Engineering Indicators 2010," the NSF ranked the top cities by percentage of workers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics occupation.
Bloomington-Normal was ranked the 22nd best small place in which to do business by Forbes Magazine. Forbes considered 12 metrics in compiling the rankings including: past and projected job growth, the cost of doing business and the cost of living, quality of life, and cultural and recreational opportunities.
Bloomington-Normal was ranked 15th on The Atlantic magazine's list of the top 25 communities for recent college graduates.
Illinois State University was ranked 95th on the list of the 100 best values in public colleges in the country by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. Illinois State was only one of two public colleges in the state to make the list.
Illinois State University's College of Business was ranked by BusinessWeek magazine as one of the top 100 undergraduate business schools nationwide. Illinois State placed 93rd out of all public and private universities and 46th among public undergraduate business programs.
Illinois State University was ranked 83rd on the list of the nation's top public schools by U.S. News & World Report.
Illinois Wesleyan University was ranked 62nd on the list of the nation's top liberal arts colleges according to the U.S. News & World Report.
2010 & 2009
Bloomington-Normal was ranked the 15th best college town with under 250,000 residents by the American Institute for Economic Research. The 2010-2011 College Destination Index assessed college locations' broader learning environment and focused on 12 measures including academic environment, quality of life and professional opportunities.
The Children's Discovery Museum was deemed the best creative children's experience in Illinois by Media World USA's "Best of" Series. The Children's Discovery Museum was subsequently featured on a Best of Illinois television program on CBS 2 WBBM Chicago and on the Travel Channel.
The McLean County Museum of History's exhibit, A Turbulent Time: Perspectives of the Vietnam War, received the prestigious Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History. This national award is presented as part of the organization's Leadership in History Awards which encourages standards of excellence in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history, publically recognizing superior and innovative achievements in the field.
State Farm was ranked #1 by DiversityBusiness.com for its active and visible role in promoting diversity, inclusion and engagement in the multicultural communities throughout the country.
Illinois Wesleyan University was ranked 32nd among Kiplinger's Personal Finance 100 Best Values in Private Colleges for 2010-2011.
Illinois Wesleyan University was ranked 60th on the list of the top 100 liberal arts colleges according to the U.S. News & World Report. A total of five colleges from the state of Illinois made the list.
Illinois State University was ranked as one of 100 best values in public colleges in the country according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. Illinois State ranked 89th and was only one of two public colleges in the state to make the list.
