Why Ithaca?

This is a collection of accolades Ithaca has received over the past ten years. And we continue to receive more!

Ithaca ranked #4 nationwide in The New Rating Guide to Life in America's Small Cities by Kevin Heubusch, 1997, and in an earlier edition was ranked #1 in the East

Ithaca ranked "America's Most Enlightened City" by Utne Reader, May 1997

Ithaca ranked #2 overall for the United States in the Rating Guide to Environmentally Healthy Metro Area, by Robert S. Weinhold, Durango, CO.: Animas Press, 1997

Ithaca ranked as one of "25 Terrific Places to Bring up a Family" by Mothering Magazine, July/August 2001

Classified as "Best Fly Fishing Through North America," Fish and Fly Magazine, Winter 2001

The Ithaca Farmers Market was named one of the top "60 Best American Public Places" by Utne Reader, January 2002

Ithaca rated as one of the best "American Values: Where to Buy a Retirement Home," Smart Money Magazine, February 2002

"100 Great Escapes: Top-10 Trips," Travel & Leisure Magazine, March/April 2002

Ithaca ranked as one of the "Best Places to Vacation," Money Magazine, April 2002

Ithaca ranked as one of "America's Five Best Mountain Biking Towns" in Bike Magazine, June 2002

Ithaca ranked #14 in Outside Magazine's "40 Best College Towns Outside ‘U'", September 2003

Ithaca rated as "Best Healthy City in the Northeast" by Organic Style magazine, September/October 2003

Ithaca listed as "an artist-friendly alternative to New York and Los Angeles" by Susan M. Brackney in The No-so-Lost Soul Companion, October 2002

Ithaca ranked as the "Number-One Emerging City" in USA Today based on the book Cities Ranked and Rated by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander, 2004

Ithaca rated as one of the "12 Great Places to Retire" by Kiplingers Personal Finance, March 2005, by Pat Mertz Esswein, Mary Beth Franklin and Magali Rheault

Ithaca graded as #1 City for Knowledge Workers, "College Towns Are at the Heart of the Knowledge Sector Economy" in Expansion Management magazine, March/April 2006, by
Bill King and Michael Keating

Bottom Line Personal highlighted Ithaca as one of "Seven Great Places to Live" that were noted for very reasonable real estate prices and the "small-town feel with entertainment options-theater, sports, lectures, dining-and quality medical care," March 1, 2006

Ithaca ranked #4 in Relocate America's "Top 100 Places to Live in 2006," April, 2006. Relocate-America.com

Ithaca ranked #17 nationwide among the "Best Places for Business and Careers" by Forbes magazine, April 2006

Kiplinger's Personal Finance positioned Ithaca #8 in "50 Smart Places to Live" by Sean O'Neill, June 2006

Ithaca rated among the "12 Hippest Hometowns for Vegetarians" in VegNews magazine, July/August 2006

Ithaca rated #1 in "12 Great Places You've Never Heard Of" in Mother Earth News magazine, July/August 2006

Ithaca graded #2 by Country Home magazine in "Best Green Places to Live," April 2007

Ithaca was listed #3 by Relocate America in "Top 100 Places to Live in 2007," April 2007

Farmers Insurance positioned Ithaca at #3 in its study of "Most Secure Places to Live - Small Towns" in December 2007

Ithaca schools ranked #2 nationwide among metro areas under 500,000 by Expansion Management Magazine, December 2007

Ithaca graded #3 by Forbes.com in "The Smartest Cities in America" February 2008

Smart Money.com positioned Ithaca at #2 in "Seven Places to Retire During An Economic Downturn" by Kelli B. Grant, February 2008