Top 10 cities for African Americans 2007: our readers and editors select the best places in which to live, work, and play

Black Enterprise, May, 2007 by Carolyn M. Brown, David A. Padgett

FOR MOST, LIVING THE GOOD LIFE includes high-paying jobs, affordable homes, a vibrant social life, and short commutes. How can you achieve such a first-rate lifestyle? Well. we identified 10 locales that promise a trove of business, professional, and personal opportunities: BLACK ENTERPRISE'S Top 10 Cities for African Americans.

Our 2007 ranking offers some major changes and repositioning in comparison to our 2001 and 2004 lists. Five cities found on both lists remain: Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina: Dallas: Houston; and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Nashville. Tennessee, and Columbus. Ohio, represent returnees from our 2004 roster. Three cities failed in make the cut this time around: Birmingham, Alabama, which received a low response from its residents, and Baltimore and Memphis, Tennessee, which were knocked out of contention because of residents' great dissatisfaction with several key living standards. Our newcomers to the list are Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Florida; and Raleigh-Durham, Noah Carolina.

For the third consecutive time, major metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles didn't measure up. Chicago and Philadelphia, both included on our 2001 ranking, failed to return to their past glory. Residents of these urban hubs continue to be disenchanted with nagging social problems including the high cost of living, rising crime rates, and lackluster public schools.

Just as in 2004, the South continues to be the area of choice, with representation from eight metros--two from North Carolina: two from Texas; one each from Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee; and the Washington, D.C. Metro area. The career mobility, affordable housing, and overall quality of life found in Southern cities appeal to black families that live and flock there. For examples, look at the newbies: Jacksonville boasts a higher percentage of African American homeowners than any other city on the list, while robust job growth and a highly educated black population helped Raleigh-Durham make the grade this year. These Southern towns are no longer considered sleepy provincial locales: they now offer the same social amenities as cities traditionally considered more dynamic. Residents enjoy rich cultural environs complete with art galleries, concerts, professional sports, and night clubs.

So how did we arrive at, the top 10? Our selections were culled from more than 2,000 respondents who filled out an interactive survey posted on our Website (www.blackenter prise.com) over a nine-week period, between December 2006 and February 2007. Participants were asked to evaluate their cities based on their level of satisfaction with 24 quality of life factors (1, very dissatisfied, to 5, very satisfied). Although more than 300 cities were nominated, only those cities with more than 20 responses were given consideration.

HOW THE CITIES WERE CHOSEN

IN ASSESSING THE LOCATIONS, WE ACTUALLY LOOKED at metropolitan areas--the core cities and surrounding suburbs as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. This year's survey showed respondents were satisfied overall with earnings potential, entrepreneurial opportunities, jobs, cost of living, affordable housing, higher education, access to technology, and medical care. In general, respondents were discontent with the quality of public schools, availability of daycare facilities, race relations, crime rates, and black political clout.

Our analysis did not stop there. Using a series of statistical data, the list was then narrowed to 13 metro areas. Heavier weighting was applied to seven of the 22 factors--"super factors"--that pertain specifically to African Americans:

* Black median household income compared with overall median household income

* Percent of black households earning greater than $100,000 divided by the percent of all households earning greater than $100,000 per year

* Black unemployment rate

* Number of black-owned businesses per 1,000 black residents

* Percentage of black home loan rejections

* Percentage of black college graduates

* Black homeownership rate

By combining survey response scores with the quality of life scores, we arrived at a final ranking of the top 10 cities far African Americans.

Top 10 highlights reveal:

* All have a higher percentage of black high school graduates than the national average

* Nine have a higher percentage of black college graduates than the national average

* Nine have black unemployment rates below the national average

* Seven boast median black household incomes above the national average

* Eight reveal a cost of living index less than the national average

* Four out of 10 have a black mayor

On the following pages, find out why residents of these top 10 cities wouldn't want to live, work, and play anywhere else.

10

Jacksonville, FL

Camryn, Carene John, Cy, and Maurio L. Farmer

WHEN CARENE JOHN, A NATIVE OF BROOKLYN MOVED TO Jacksonville, she admits that "the first year was a bit of a culture shock." She made the move in 1998 for love, following then boyfriend Maurio L. Farmer, who had relocated from Atlanta. Eleven years later, the young couple, both 33, has comfortably settled into life in this small metropolis where nearly 25% of the population is African American.