From an April 23, 2007 Toledo Talk thread, a list of past Toledo Talk postings about how Metro Toledo ranks in various categories. Some important and some irrelevant.
March 17, 2003 - Toledo may not be attractive to 'new economy' - "A study was conducted to see what the requirements were to bring the high-spirited, entrepreneurial 24-to-40-year-olds that make up the "new economy" to Michigan. "The Toledo area shares many of the characteristics the younger workers cited as reasons they would not want to relocate to Michigan. The Midwest’s cold weather was cited often as the potential 'deal breaker' when considering a job move."
July 17, 2003 - Toledo doesn't rank well in reading habits - "A study profiled America's 64 largest cities for literacy habits, and it ranked Toledo 54th. Minneapolis is number one, Cincy is 10. In this study, "the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library system was middle-of-the-road." Another study last year had our library system ranked 8th out of 90 libraries."
November 5, 2003 - The dreaded 'brain drain' hammering Toledo - "The figures, released this week, rank metro Toledo - which is Lucas, Wood, and Fulton counties - as 207th out of 276 metro areas across the country. They’re young, single, college-educated, and coveted by leaders across the country for helping revitalize regions - and they’re leaving the Toledo area in droves. Metropolitan Toledo continues to lose twice as many residents in that demographic than it gains, often called "brain drain." "
November 11, 2003 - Toledo library still in the Top-10 - "The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library has kept its place among the top-10 ranked libraries among cities of similar size, marking the fourth consecutive year it has been recognized by the national rating index."
December 9, 2003 - Toledo ranks low in 'sleep' - "A recent survey on the best and worst cities for sleep ranks Toledo 82nd on the top 100 list."
January 21, 2004 - Toledo no longer tops in smoking - "[Toledo] has lost the dubious distinction of having the country's highest percentage of cigarette smokers, according to new federal data. A 2002 survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease control and Prevention found that 20.8 of Toledo-area residents smoke. That's a big drop from 2000, when the same survey showed that 31.2 of Toledoans smoked."
March 4, 2004 - Toledo is entrepreneur-friendly - _"One important piece of evidence is Entrepreneur magazine's ranking of Toledo as the sixth best in its listing of "best cities for entrepreneurs" among midsized Midwest cities for 2003. Overall, Toledo ranked 40th out of 84 midsized cities in the survey. Toledo did very well, based on a blend of entrepreneurial activity (start-ups over a five-year period), small-business growth, job growth in the last three years, and risk (as judged by failure rates)."_
January 21, 2005 - 'Is your city stupid?' - "Once again, one of those men's magazines has produced a goofy study. In the current issue, the mag ranked 101 cities based on the number of bachelor's degrees per capita, the number of universities, SAT scores and more. Toledo is ranked 85. In October, Men's Health ranked the 101 best cities for men to live in. In that ranking, Fort Wayne was 73 and Toledo 65."
February 10, 2005 - Ohio's job losses - "Ohio has now set an all-time record 106 consecutive months when its job growth performance has been below the United States national average. Three of the top twenty poorest cities in the United States are now located in Ohio. Cleveland ranks #1 as the USA's poorest city, while Cincinnati ranks #15, and Toledo ranks #20."
June 7, 2005 - Toledo unwired - "This is a good thing ... Seattle and San Francisco are the most "unwired cities" in America — top spots for computer junkies who send e-mail and surf the Web at restaurants, libraries or public plazas. Also in the top 10: Austin, Texas; Portland, Ore.; Toledo, Ohio; Atlanta; Denver; the Research Triangle area of North Carolina; Minneapolis; and Orange County, Calif."
August 26, 2005 - Top-paying jobs flee Lucas Co, Census reports. 5-year loss 1,140 positions - "Toledo's home county, Lucas, is the only one of Ohio's major urban counties to lose private-sector professional, scientific, and technical services jobs over the latest five-year period. The five-year period is from 1998-2003."
September 3, 2005 - U.S. poverty rankings - "[T]he Census Bureau released 2004 data about income, poverty, and health insurance coverage. Detroit has the highest poverty rate at 33.6%. Cleveland the former No. 1 fell to No. 12 in the latest rankings. Blade op-ed says Toledo fell from 20th to 40th with a total of 16.5 percent of Toledoans living in poverty last year."
November 13, 2005 - Business-friendly scale - _"Ohio fares poorly and Michigan fares well. In the latest rankings in the Small Business Survival Index published by the Small Business & Entrepreneurial Council, in Washington, Ohio was unchanged at 40th among the states and Michigan moved up a notch to fifth from sixth most "business-friendly" state." Local entrepreneurs and business owners say they're not surprised, given high utility costs, high taxes, and lots of other things wrong in Ohio. Still, they say they are expanding, making money, and coping."_
January 23, 2006 - Job Postings Per Capita
February 23, 2006 - Metro Toledo ranks near last for job growth - _"Fifth from the bottom. That's how Toledo ranked in the latest national study of job growth among the 200 major metropolitan areas. The No. 196 ranking was worse than the previous report more than a year ago by the Milken Institute, a California think tank. Toledo's showing highlights the metro area's poor job creation performance over a number of years compared to cities nationwide and demonstrates the area's weak level of adding high-technology jobs."_
June 21, 2006 - Toledo & Ohio Shrink; When Will Our Government? - "After dropping 1.1% last year, Toledo nearly dipped below 300000 people. Toledo shrinks 13th-fastest of U.S. cities, census says."
August 15, 2006 - How Angry is Toledo - "A study conducted by Men's Health magazine has found that Orlando, Fla., ranks No. 1 on a list of the angriest cities in the nation. Toledo comes in at number 59 on the list."
October 27, 2006 - UT Law ties for first among Ohio's nine law schools for 1st time bar takers - "The University of Toledo College of Law tied for first with Cincinnati for first time Ohio bar exam takers with a 93% passage rating. In the state, 85% of first time takers passed."
November 28, 2006 - kudos are in order - "Toledo-Lucas County Public Library Rated 8th Best in Nation by National Survey."
January 25, 2007 - Toledo supports its young people - "The organization, “America’s Promise” just released it’s 100 best communities for young people and Toledo, Ohio made the list. "Toledo is one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People, in part, because of "Building for Success,” the single largest building project in the history of the Toledo."
February 6, 2007 - Men's Health mag ranks Toledo near the bottom - "Our sixth annual ranking of the Best & Worst Cities for Men ... by crunching the numbers in 24 categories, including life-and-death data on cancer, heart disease, and stroke. We also looked at lifestyle issues, such as annual income and daily commute, crime rates and college graduation rates. Lastly, we ran a sweat check, looking at how often, how long, and how intensely men exercise." Toledo ranked 98 out of 100.
February 23, 2007 - 'Toledo 4th in nation in home affordability' - "Only Indianapolis, Youngstown, Detroit, and Buffalo, N.Y., were more affordable among large areas. Eighty-six percent of homes in metro Toledo were within the means of people earning the median income of $58,900, the [NAHB] study said. The median price of a home was $105,000."
April 23, 2007 - Toledo rated most business friendly - "London-based fDi magazine — Foreign Direct Investment — ranked Toledo 10th among 44 cities in the large-city category overall and the "most business friendly" among large cities. Toledo was judged in the population category of 500,000 to 2 million people, based on its metropolitan population."
May 16, 2007 Toledo City Paper story titled Toledo ranks high and low — where it stands, nobody knows.
