AIER Ranks the New River Valley a 2017 Top College Destination

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Date:  February 15, 2017

New River Valley, VA – The New River Valley is among the top college destinations in the country, according to the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER).  The Institute recently ranked the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as the #17 college destination in the U.S. among other college town MSAs with populations less than 250,000.  The New River Valley’s Cost of Living (No. 5) and Economic Activity (No. 4) were two factors that contributed to its high ranking.

AIER’s annual College Destinations Index analyzed 269 MSAs with colleges and universities around the country and ranked them based on several factors related to social and cultural life, as well as post-graduation work opportunities.  According to AIER:

“The ‘college experience’ is about more than simply attending a top-notch university.  The city or town where the school is located also is important.  The people the students meet, the places they go, and the jobs they may hold are essential supplements to formal education.”

This “college experience” is what makes the New River Valley such a unique place for students to study, work, and play.  Home to four different colleges and universities—Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM), New River Community College, Radford University, and Virginia Tech—the region mixes small town charm and unparalleled outdoor amenities with world-class research and work-study opportunities.

Collaboration and partnership with local industries are the hallmarks of New River Valley colleges and Universities.  Some of these partnerships include:

*  Radford University’s ARTIS Lab enables Information Technology students to work hand-in-hand with local business partners to solve real-life problems in IT, data management, and cybersecurity each semester.

*  New River Community College partners with local companies in both its Machine Technology program and its Instrumentation and Control Automation program to work with the materials and machines that are most in-demand for graduates of its programs.

*  Virginia Tech’s successful Cooperative Education Program enables undergraduate students to gain real-world, full-time, career-related work experience during college.  The College of Engineering’s program allows students to pursue co-ops at local, New River Valley employers like Luna Innovations, Wolverine Advanced Materials, Corning, Polymer Solutions, Aeroprobe, and among others.

*  VCOM’s Appalachian Outreach program pairs students with allied healthcare professionals to provide wellness screenings, free clinics, and other programs to provide both practical experiences for students and much needed medical care for underserviced communities.

Outside of the classroom, students can hike over fifty miles of the Appalachian Trail, bike over eighty miles of singletrack or greenways, boat at Claytor Lake, or canoe or kayak the second oldest river in the world—all within the New River Valley.

The region is also a hub for arts and cultural events.  Virginia Tech’s Moss Arts Center showcases talent like the Munich Symphony Orchestra or the Philip Glass Ensemble, and the Floyd Country Store upholds the history and evolution of Appalachian music at its weekly Friday Night Jamboree.  Numerous restaurants like 622 North, pictured above, provide intimate performance venues for local or regional musicians.

With ten towns and one city forming the backbone of the New River Valley, popular shops, restaurants, and coffee houses serve any number of regional students, faculty, and staff.  Nestled in the college downtowns of Blacksburg and Radford, two historic, independent theaters—The Lyricand the Radford Theater—offer movie buffs an ever-changing selection of independent movies, documentaries, special screenings, and film festivals throughout the year.

With resources like these, it’s easy to see why the New River Valley was ranked one of the top college destinations in the U.S.  To learn more, visit the AIER College Destinations Index 2017.

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Virginia’s New River Valley: For those searching for an inspiring place to live and do business, Virginia’s New River Valley provides both an eclectic small town atmosphere and an innovative, collaborative business community with a loyal, highly skilled, and educated workforce. Offering the best of both worlds – magnificent mountains, cutting-edge research, arts, entertainment, and education – it’s A NATURAL FIT.


Onward NRV: Onward NRV is a public/private, regional economic development organization whose mission is to attract and retain world class jobs, investment and talent in Virginia’s New River Valley. It’s also a movement where leaders from business, government, and higher education work together to promote the economic vitality of the region.

NRV Towns Ranked Among Best Places in Virginia to Raise a Family

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WalletHub.com has ranked three New River Valley towns among the 50 places in Virginia to Raise a Family.


WalletHub’s data team compared communities in Virginia across 21 key indicators of family-friendliness. Their data set ranges from “median family income” to “school-system quality” to “housing affordability.”  Based on their analysis, Christiansburg (No. 15), Blacksburg (No. 33) and Radford (No. 47) all made the list.


Read more at WalletHub.


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Virginia’s New River Valley: For those searching for an inspiring place to live and do business, Virginia’s New River Valley provides both an eclectic small town atmosphere and an innovative, collaborative business community with a loyal, highly skilled, and educated workforce. Offering the best of both worlds – magnificent mountains, cutting-edge research, arts, entertainment, and education – it’s A NATURAL FIT.


Onward NRV: Onward NRV is a public/private, regional economic development organization whose mission is to attract and retain world class jobs, investment and talent in Virginia’s New River Valley. It’s also a movement where leaders from business, government, and higher education work together to promote the economic vitality of the region.

Blacksburg Ranked a Top 10 College Town for Mountain Bikers

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January 30, 2017

Singletracks.com has ranked Virginia Tech a top 10 Best US College/University for Mountain Bikers.  Read more at https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-trails/the-10-best-colleges-and-universities-for-mountain-bikers/10/

2016 in the New River Valley, Ranked!

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New River Valley, VA – 2016 was a banner year for the New River Valley in terms of regional and national recognition.  From Fox News to Southern Living to Area Development Magazine, both the region as a whole and the counties, city, towns, and universities within it were recognized for outstanding lifestyle, business, and educational opportunities.

Although this list is far from comprehensive, we hope that it gives you a good overview of how the New River Valley stacked up against the rest of the country (and world!) in 2016.

 

Safety First

•  Blacksburg (#6) and Christiansburg (#11) were ranked by Backgroundchecks.org as two of the top 25 Safest Cities in Virginia.


Happiness Counts

•  Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford, Floyd, and Pulaski all earned top awards in Blue Ridge Country magazine’s Happiest Town in the Blue Ridge survey.

•  Christiansburg was ranked #3 Happiest City in Virginia by OnlyInYourState.com.

•  WTKR rated Blacksburg the #7 Best City for Singles.

•  Southern Living listed Floyd among its Best Small Towns.

•  Forbes called Blacksburg a Top 25 Best Place to Retire.

•  Pulaski rang in at #10 on the Best Small Towns That Offer Peace and Quiet.

 

Leading Metro

•  AIER named the a Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford MSA #19 Top College Town.

•  In its Leading Locations survey, Area Development Magazine ranked the MSA as #30 overall and #12 among mid-sized metros.

•  The MSA ranked #4 overall and #2 among mid-sized metros in Area Development’s Prime Workforce rankings.

•  The Milken Institute recognized the MSA as #41 out of 201 small metro areas.

 

Tech-Savvy

•  Blacksburg was named one of the Best Tech Hubs in Virginia by Southern Business & Development Magazine.

•  Southern Business & Development Magazine also named Montgomery County as one of the Best Data Center Locations in Virginia.

•  NaCo ranked Montgomery County the #4 Top Digital County for counties with populations under 150,000.

 

 College Town Love

•  Garden & Gun ranked Blacksburg as the #1 Southern College Town.

•  Southern Living’s Facebook fans awarded Blacksburg the #1 College Town.

•  WalletHub gave Blacksburg the #27 ranking and Radford the #90 ranking out of 202 college towns.

 

Get Outside

•  Singletracks.com named Blacksburg the Mountain Bike Capital of Virginia.

•  Canoe & Kayak Magazine named Pembroke one of America’s (Next Best) Paddling Towns.

•  Fox News called Floyd Fest the #7 Hottest Music Festival in the U.S.

•  LifeOutside Magazine recognized both Pulaski and Floyd as top Weekend Getaways in Southwest Virginia.

•  Blueridge Outdoors magazine listed the Flat Peter/Dixon Branch Loop in Giles as a Top 10 Fall Foliage Favorite.

 

Top Tier Colleges & Universities

•  Princeton Review ranked Virginia Tech as having the #1 Best Quality of Life and the #7 Happiest Students, among others.

•  Washington Monthly Magazine dubbed Radford University a Best Bang for Your Buck school.

•  New River Community College was named one of Virginia’s Best Community Colleges for Workforce Training by Southern Business & Development Magazine.

•  Giles County was awarded the NaCo 2016 Achievement Award for its Access to Community College Education program.

•  Virginia Tech ranked #9 in Research Expenditures by the National Science Foundation.

 

If you’d like to stay up-to-date with the latest rankings for the New River Valley, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram!

About Us:

Virginia’s New River Valley is a vibrant community that’s home to two state universities, Virginia Tech and Radford University, and a diverse industry base ranging from large international corporations to small technology startups. The region is designated the Blacksburg-Christiansburg Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area and encompasses the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski and the city of Radford.

The New River Valley Economic Development Alliance is a public/private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to market the New River Valley, to foster job creation, facilitate new investment and to improve the quality of life in the region.

New River Valley Pioneered Online Communities in the 1990s

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Date:  December 15, 2016

New River Valley Economic Development Alliance

 Photo Credit: Virginia Tech/Jim Stroup

 New River Valley, VA – Did you know that Wade’s Supermarkets, a local New River Valley grocery chain, pioneered online grocery shopping decades before AmazonFresh?

Or that Montgomery County Public Schools were the first in the nation to be 100% connected to the internet?

At a time when the internet was in its infancy, the Town of Blacksburg piloted a revolutionary new community internet network—the Blacksburg Electronic Village (BEV)—that defined the way New River Valley businesses operate and innovate today.

In 1991, the Town of Blacksburg and Bell Atlantic’s subsidiary, Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone, partnered to create a groundbreaking online network to connect New River Valley communities together.  The resulting BEV allowed for companies, organizations, and individuals to create webpages, promote e-commerce, operate list-serves, participate in chat rooms, and even join a mentoring program for local middle and high school students.

With over 87% of Blacksburg residents wired through dial-up and Ethernet connections and 100% of Montgomery County Public Schools directly connected to the internet, BEV resulted in the Guinness Book of World Records dubbing the region as the “Most Wired Community” in 1998.

Though the landscape of the internet has changed over the past twenty years, BEV’s contribution to connecting the New River Valley to the wider world is still felt today.  Several startups resulted from the network’s online commerce and connectivity, and the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center’s high speed Ethernet connection allowed for innovation and job creation at the research park which now hosts over 180 research, technology, and support companies.

While dial-up internet and chat rooms seem like ancient history, BEV redefined what community meant in the New River Valley and helped pave the way for today’s ever-present social media.

To read more about the Blacksburg Electronic Village’s history and influence in the New River Valley, visit The Verge’s What Happened to the Most-Wired Town of the 1990s?

About Us:

Virginia’s New River Valley is a vibrant community that’s home to two state universities, Virginia Tech and Radford University, and a diverse industry base ranging from large international corporations to small technology startups. The region is designated the Blacksburg-Christiansburg Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area and encompasses the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski and the city of Radford.

The New River Valley Economic Development Alliance is a public/private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to market the New River Valley, to foster job creation, facilitate new investment and to improve the quality of life in the region.

Corp of Cadets member waves VT flag at Lane Stadium, the largest stadium in VA

Lane Stadium the Largest Stadium in VA

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BLACKSBURG, VA – Lane Stadium is the largest stadium in VA according to Fox Sports. The well-known home of Virginia Tech football has 66,233 seats, which beats Scott Stadium in Charlottesville by about 5,000.

Photos of the crowd at Lane Stadium, the largest stadium in va, from the 2017 Homecoming Game against the University of North Carolina Tarheels.

The Hokies’ stadium has been around since 1964, and has undergone many expansions and renovations since.

The stadium also ranked as the #1 homefield advantage stadium by Rivals.com. Plus, back in 2007, ESPN’s Bruce Feldman also ranked Lane Stadium as the #2 scariest stadium for opponents to play.

For more information about Lane Stadium and Worsham Field, visit HokieSports.

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Virginia’s New River Valley: For those searching for an inspiring place to live and do business, Virginia’s New River Valley provides both an eclectic small town atmosphere and an innovative, collaborative business community with a loyal, highly skilled, and educated workforce. Offering the best of all worlds – magnificent mountains, cutting-edge research, arts, entertainment, and education – it’s A NATURAL FIT.

Onward NRV: Onward NRV is a public/private, regional economic development organization whose mission is to attract and retain world class jobs, investment and talent in Virginia’s New River Valley. It’s also a movement where leaders from business, government, and higher education work together to promote the economic vitality of the region.

NRV Towns Voted Happiest in Blue Ridge

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Date:  October 28, 2016

New River Valley, VA – This summer, five towns (technically four towns and one city) were voted to top spots in the Happiest Mountain Towns reader poll by Blue Ridge Country magazine.  Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford, Floyd, and Pulaski all received top honors in the magazine’s rankings which used quantitative data like unemployment rates and commute times as a baseline, but also accounted for readers’ passions for their hometowns.

The initial 96 towns were whittled down to 61 for readers to choose from, and the coverage area included the mountain regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and South Carolina.  Blue Ridge Country vetted the 61 initial choices by setting “minimum happiness-base standards” (i.e. a commute of <30 minutes, a below-average cost-of-living, unemployment rate below 10%, etc.), but then left the poll open for readers all over the nation to vote for their favorites.

In the 10,000-49,999 category, three New River Valley towns cracked the top twenty: Blacksburg (#6), Christiansburg (#17), and Radford (#18).  Blacksburg and Christiansburg, both located in Montgomery County, are strongly affiliated with Virginia Tech and the many companies that have spun-off from or located near the research university.  Radford, of course, is closely tied to Radford University and its award-winning business, nursing, education, and liberal arts programs.

All three places boast a low cost-of-living, easy accessibility to the outdoors (the 7-mile Huckleberry Trail connects Blacksburg and Christiansburg and the New River snakes its way along the edge of Radford’s downtown and campus corridor), and a strong arts community.

Floyd (#3) and Pulaski (#26) clinched a top spots in the <10,000 category.  Heralded by Southern Living as one of the South’s Best Small Towns, the top tier ranking is no surprise.  What Floyd lacks in numbers, it makes up for with style, small town charm, and impactful events.  Floyd’s innovative business climate offers start-ups, entrepreneurial ventures, and artisanal producers a welcoming place to do business.

Pulaski, a former furniture and textile manufacturing town, has undergone a massive revitalization initiative including the renovation of the Jackson Park Inn, clean-up of Peak Creek, and improvements to Calfee Park, the ninth oldest professional Minor League Baseball Park in use in America.  While many diverse manufacturing jobs still exist in Pulaski, other home-grown business are sprouting up and the town is working to attract a mix of industries.

Both towns offer unlimited outdoor recreation opportunities like paddleboarding the Little River, biking the New River Trail State Park, or hiking the region’s trails.  They also both promote large community farmers markets and music-oriented events like the Floyd County Store Friday Night Jamboree.

To learn more about the poll, its methodology, and to see how the New River Valley stacks up, visit Blue Ridge Country.

Pembroke in Giles County, VA Named A Top Paddle Town

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Canoe & Kayak featured an article titled, “(Next) Best Paddling Towns: Pembroke, VA Exploring the New River Water Trail through Giles County, Va.”  Author Natalie Warren said:


Sometimes one town on its own is too small to truly be considered the Next Best Paddling Town. Sometimes it takes collaboration and pooling of resources by neighboring communities to provide paddler amenities for a larger region. The five municipalities in Giles County, Virginia do just that, focusing their energies on the New River, one of the geologically oldest rivers in America.

Read more at Canoe & Kayak.


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Virginia’s New River Valley: For those searching for an inspiring place to live and do business, Virginia’s New River Valley provides both an eclectic small town atmosphere and an innovative, collaborative business community with a loyal, highly skilled, and educated workforce. Offering the best of both worlds – magnificent mountains, cutting-edge research, arts, entertainment, and education – it’s A NATURAL FIT.


Onward NRV: Onward NRV is a public/private, regional economic development organization whose mission is to attract and retain world class jobs, investment and talent in Virginia’s New River Valley. It’s also a movement where leaders from business, government, and higher education work together to promote the economic vitality of the region.

Business Announcements Inmotion Ribbon Cutting

NRV a top 30 “Leading Location” for new and expanding businesses

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Date:  June 15, 2016

New River Valley, VA – The New River Valley is one of the hottest places in America for new and expanding business, according to Area Development. The magazine recently released its ranking of the top 100 Leading Locations in the U.S. for 2016.

The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metropolitan statistical area (MSA), encompassing the entire New River Valley, ranked No. 30 overall and No. 12 among mid-sized metros with populations between 160,000 to 600,000. The New River Valley was one of only two metros in Virginia designated a Leading Location. Richmond, VA made the list at No. 68 overall.

In its sixth year, the Leading Locations for 2016 rankings analyzed economic and workforce data for 394 MSAs to determine recent and long-term economic vitality as well as each metros capacity to support business growth. The four primary indicators used to compile the rankings included Prime Workforce, Economic Strength, Year-Over-Year Growth, and Five Year Growth.

Prime Workforce helped propel the New River Valley to its high overall ranking. The region ranked No. 4 overall; No. 2 among mid-sized metros. A high ranking in Prime Workforce was attributed to an area’s strong and growing nucleus of well-educated and qualified 18- to 44-year-olds in the workforce.

The availability of a qualified workforce was one of the leading indicators included in the Leading Locations ranking. Area Development indicated that when choosing a place to locate or expand, executives generally prefer to pick a place with a solid pipeline of potential employees that will allow the company to hit the ground running and support future growth.

College communities were well represented among the Top 10 Prime Workforce locations. Area Development found this to be “no surprise” because many graduates choose to join the workforce after graduation and college towns tend to be hotbeds of innovation.

Virginia’s New River Valley is no exception to this finding. The region benefits from not one, but two universities – Virginia Tech and Radford University – and an exceptional community college – New River Community College. With approximately 45,000 students, these institutions provide a steady pipeline of talent for companies in the New River Valley to draw from. Virginia Tech, a top 40 research university, is also a major catalyst for the region’s growing technology sector.

Blacksburg, Christiansburg among safest places in Virginia

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Date:  May 6, 2016

New River Valley Economic Development Alliance

New River Valley, VA – Two New River Valley towns are among the safest places in Virginia, according to BackgroundChecks.org. The public safety focused organization recently ranked the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg on its 2016 list of the 25 Safest Cities in Virginia. BackgroundChecks.org had this to say about Blacksburg and Christiansburg:

#6 Blacksburg “Located in Montgomery County, Blacksburg is a town that has a current population of 42,600 residents. Best known as the home of Virginia Tech, the town was named by Business Week as one of the best places in the U.S. to raise kids and by Southern Living as the Best College Town in the South. The violent crime rate here is 90.6, and residents of Blacksburg have a 1.1% chance of being involved in a property crime.”

#11 Christiansburg “A town in Montgomery County, Christiansburg is home to 21,000 residents. Also the county seat, the community was a stagecoach stop in the 1850’s and was the residence of such legends as Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, and Booker T. Washington. The violent crime rate here is 141.1, and the chance of being affected by property crime in Christiansburg is 3.1%.”

BackgroundChecks.org is a public safety focused organization committed to increasing public safety, community involvement, transparent government and education. To compile the list of the 25 Safest Cities in Virginia, BackgroundChecks.org used FBI violent crime stats and its own proprietary research data.

To view the full list of the Top 25 Safest Cities in Virginia, visit http://backgroundchecks.org/25-safest-cities-in-virginia-2016.html 

About Us:

Virginia’s New River Valley is a vibrant community that’s home to two state universities, Virginia Tech and Radford University, and a diverse industry base ranging from large international corporations to small technology startups. The region is designated the Blacksburg-Christiansburg Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area and encompasses the counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski and the city of Radford.

The New River Valley Economic Development Alliance is a public/private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to market the New River Valley, to foster job creation, facilitate new investment and to improve the quality of life in the region.