Sugar Land Ranked as One of Nation’s Best Places To Live

Report  2006

Sugar Land, TX - Where's the best place to raise your family in America today, as well as being an affordable community? The recently released first edition of Best Places to Raise Your Family: The Top 100 Affordable Communities (Wiley, May 2006) in the United States ranked Sugar Land eight in the Best of the Best top ten category.

The towns were determined by demographics, standard of living, education, lifestyle, health and safety.

"This `Best of the Best' recognition is a well-deserved honor for our residents," said City Manager Allen Bogard. "We have an unparalleled quality of life. I am pleased that facts, local interviews and professional evaluation of our City places us in the top 10 in America."

Best Places to Raise Your Family highlights 100 areas across the United States based on a ranking that includes property values, average incomes, school systems, nearby leisure activities and more. The list is further refined into the top 10 areas in each category.

Sugar Land was judged "Best of the Best" in "Standard of Living," "Education," "Health and Safety" and "Lifestyle." The City placed in the top 10 for both "Standard of Living" and "Education."

The "Standard of Living" category was determined by comparing incomes, home prices and other costs, including gas, taxes and childcare. In addition to providing statistics on income levels, the authors compiled and analyzed facts about job security, local companies and future employment potential.

The "Education" category evaluated school test results and educational standards based on such criteria such as the number of adults with college degrees and the amount of money spent per student.

Rankings in the demographic analysis identified Sugar Land as the third fastest growing community in the nation with a 96.4 percent growth rate (as compared to the national average of 14.9 percent) for the 15-year period from 1990 to 2004. Sugar Land also maintained third place for population growth for the most recent five-year period of 2000-2004 with a 24.9 percent growth rate. Further evaluation of Sugar Land's population ranked the City as the ninth most diverse community in the United States. The City also ranked in the top 10 in "Median Household Income" and "Household Income" greater than $100,000. "Cost of Living" compared to income levels in an area -- also referenced as Buying Power Index (BPI) -- ranked Sugar Land as the second Best BPI in the nation.

Regarding future growth projections, Sugar Land was ranked second in the nation for future job growth for the next five years (2006 to 2010). These projections were derived from long-term economic growth trends in the area and other economic factors. Sugar Land is described as the "newer powerhouse" suburb because of its attractive location, excellent workforce and strong economic development efforts. These economic indicators -- coupled with Sugar Land's ranking of ninth for the "Highest Level of Educational Attainment" in its workforce with 59 percent of four-year "College Degrees and Graduate Degrees" -- positions the community's continued positive business growth for the next five years.

Located in the southwest portion of the Houston MSA, Sugar Land is a planned community recognized as one of the fastest growing cities in the State of Texas and the U.S. Sugar Land's favorable business climate touts a highly educated workforce and over 3 million sq. ft. of Class A office space in its Central Business District. The City has invested over $90 million in economic development funds on projects and business incentives since 1993. Sugar Land's Economic Development Department's initiatives and programs over the past two years have created over 1,200 new jobs, over 500 retained jobs and over $250 million in new capital investment. This award winning community was recently rated by CNN Money/ Money Magazine as one of the top 50 places to live in the U.S.

Report  2005

In a 2005 comparison of the nation’s best places to live, Sugar Land ranked 46.
MONEY magazine and CNN/Money spent months looking for Great American Towns -- where people want to raise children and celebrate life’s milestones. Starting with more than 1,300 cities, including 77 Texas cities, the list was shortened to the 100 best – including Sugar Land.

“This is not news to Sugar Land residents who know this is the best place to live,” said Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace. “Our vibrant quality of life – beautiful neighborhoods, outstanding parks, great shopping, excellent schools, a low crime rate and proximity to all that a major metropolitan area has to offer – the best of all worlds.”

Data Researchers at OnBoard, which maintains a database of nearly 40,000 cities, assisted in the process to identify the Best Places to Live for 2005. Two other Texas cities made this prestigious list. Colleyville, in the Dallas area, ranked #40 and Boerne, north of San Antonio, ranked #48.

Consideration was given to those cities with populations above 14,000, above-median household income, population growth and real estate appreciation over the past five years, a 60-mile proximity to a major airport and 30 miles to a major teaching hospital.

Scratched from the list were towns with low education scores or those falling below the 25th percentile in any two of the following: unemployment, income growth, crime or arts resources.

That left Sugar Land among the 100 Best Places to Live, with individual rankings determined by weighing economic, education and safety factors twice as much as arts, leisure and park space. Additional data considered included education, environment, housing affordability, taxes, commute times and job market. MONEY writers also interviewed residents and community leaders.

Last year in a comparison of the nation's hottest towns, MONEY ranked Sugar Land 18 in its western region for cities with a population under 100,000.

Sugar Land Receives Ninth Consecutive
Distinguished Budget Award

SUGAR LAND, Texas - Sugar Land has received its ninth consecutive Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for the annual budget beginning Oct. 1, 2004.

“This award represents a significant achievement by the City,” said Director of Finance Administration Claire Manthei. “It reflects the commitment of the City’s elected officials and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.”

In order to receive the award, the City’s budget must satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines evaluate how well the City’s budget serves as:

• a policy document (discussion of the long-term financial policies that are guiding the budget process);
• a financial plan (clearly describes funding sources and planned expenditures for the budget period);
• an operations guide (describes functions and services provided by the organization); and
• a communications device (helps readers quickly understand major budgetary issues, trends, and resource choices).

To receive the award, budgets must be judged proficient in each of the four major categories and meet established criteria. Budget reviewers are finance officials of similar state and local governments who are not in Texas. Last year, there were 101 of 1,196 cities and eight of 254 counties in Texas who participated in this awards program, the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.

Since its inception in 1984, approximately 900 entities across the United States and Canada have received the award. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

For more information on Sugar Land’s fiscal year 2004-05 budget, visit the City’s Web site at www.sugarlandtx.gov, click on “City Services” then “Budget.”

Fort Bend County population estimates are soaring:

Fort Bend's staggering growth isn't slowing, according to the latest estimates from the Texas State Data Center and Office of the State Demographer. In 2003, according to those state agencies, Fort Bend's population was estimated 410,336, up from 354,452 in 2000, an increase of 15.8 percent. The city-by-city data, released in October, tracks the population growth of the locales from Jan. 1, 2000 to Jan. 1, 2004.

Richmond added an estimated 1,362 residents during the four years for a 12.3 percent increase, from 11,081 residents to 12,443 residents. Rosenberg grew by an estimated 4,147 people, a 17.2 percent increase from 24,043 to 28,190.

Sugar Land enjoyed the most new residents during the four years, at an estimated 10,751. The city grew by 17 percent, from 63,328 to 74,079 percent, according to the state projections.
Needville grew by an estimated 14.8 percent, from 2,609 people to 2,996 people.

Fairchilds grew by 10 percent, from 678 to 746 people between those four years. Fulshear grew by an estimated 26.4 percent, from 716 to 905 people, while Kendleton saw a 7.5 percent estimated increase, with its population up to 501 from 466.

Meadows Place saw a 10 percent population increase, from 4,912 residents to 5,403 residents. Missouri City grew by 19.3 percent, going from 52,913 people in 2000 to 63,115 people in 2004. Orchard's population increased by 10.5 percent, from 408 to 451.

Simonton grew by 12.4 percent, from 718 to 807 people. Stafford grew by an estimated 18.8 percent or 2,953 residents, from 15,651 to 18,634. Thompsons, saw a 12.3 percent population increase, going from 236 to 265.