Ann Arbor Recognitions Home » Departments » Communications Office » Ann Arbor Recognitions Page ContentSee more A2 accolades on Ann Arbor SPARK's website.2021:Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, Government Finance Officers Association.Michigan Premier Utility Management Performance (PUMP) Award, Ann Arbor Wastewater Treatment Plant, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and Michigan Water Environment Association.10 Best Places to Live if you Work from Home (No. 4), Money.2021 Best Cities to Live in America (No. 6), Niche.Best School Districts in Michigan (No. 10), Niche.2021 Cities with the Best Public Schools in America (No. 2), Niche.Most Fitness-Friendly Places in 2021 (No. 4), Smartasset.com. Most Livable College Towns (No. 15), Smartasset.com.Top Places for Career Opportunities (No. 4), Smartasset.com.Solar Energy Growth and Development (Silver Designation), SolSmart.11 Best Cities to Retire in the U.S. (No. 8), Travel + Leisure magazine.Best Places to Visit in Michigan, Trips to Discover.2021-2022 Best Places to Live in Michigan (No.1), U.S. News & World Report.Best College Towns & Cities in America (No. 1), WalletHub.com.Most Educated Cities in America (No.1), WalletHub.com. 2020:Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, Government Finance Officers Association.2020 Top 100 Best Places to Live (No. 2), Livability.com.Top 10 Safest Cities in Michigan (No. 6), Munetrix.America's Best New Bikeways for 2020 (First Street - No. 7), PeopleForBikes.Best Small Cities in the U.S. (No. 10), Resonance Consultancy. Best Places to Be a Teacher (No. 24), Smartasset.com.Most Fitness-friendly Places in the U.S. (No. 4), Smartasset.com.2020 Clearinghouse Award - Best Practices in Election Administration (Most Creative and Original "I Voted" Stickers), U.S. Election Assistance Commission.Most Educated City in America (No. 1), WalletHub.com.2019:Planning Excellence, Public Outreach Award (Impacting Your City project), American Planning Association, Michigan Chapter. Planning Excellence, Transportation Planning Award (The Treeline-Allen Creek Urban Trail Master Plan), American Planning Association, Michigan Chapter. Tree City Recertification and Growth Award, Arbor Day Foundation. Top U.S. Tech Hubs (No. 3), Bloomberg's 2019 Brain Concentration Index.Cities A List leading the transition to a climate-safe future, CDP.The Best U.S. Places to Live Car Free, CityLab. Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, Government Finance Officers Association. Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, Government Finance Officers Association.2019 Municipal Equality Index Perfect Score (100 points), Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Equality Federation Institute. City Clerk of the Year, Jacqueline Beaudry, Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks. Audit of Minimum Assessing Requirements Perfect Score, Michigan Department of Treasury.Best Small College U.S. City (No. 1), and No. 5 best overall, WalletHub.com.Most Educated Cities in America (No. 1), WalletHub.com.2018:25 Most Inovative Cities in the United States (No. 6), 24/7 Wall St.Ann Arbor Renter Confidence 2018 Study (A+ rating), ApartmentList.com. 101 Best College Towns In America For 2018 (No. 1), collegeSnacks.America's Most Artistic Towns 2018 list, Expedia. Smart Cities North America Awards, Connected & Autonomous Vehicles, Public Transit, Ride-Hailing, Ride-Sharing category (Safety Pilot Model Deployment and Ann Arbor Connected Vehicle Test Environment project), IDC.Greenest Cities Award 2018 (No. 4 in Michigan), Insurify. Top 100 Best Places to Live (No. 1), Livability.com. Best U.S. Small Cities, National Geographic Traveler Magazine. Best Cities to Live In (No. 1), Niche. America's Best Hockey Towns (No. 6), SmartAsset. Best Places for Children in the United States (No. 7), SmartAsset.Least Stressed Cities in America (No. 9), SmartAsset.Most Fitness-friendly Place in America (No. 5), SmartAsset. Most Undervalued Cities in America (No. 5), SmartAsset.Best College Towns and Cities in America (No. 1), WalletHub.Best Midsize City for Basketball Fans (No. 2), WalletHub. Best Midsize City for Football Fans (No. 7), WalletHub. Most Educated Cities (No. 1), WalletHub. 2017:2017 Best-tasting Drinking Water in the United States (No. 4), American Water Works Association.2017 Best-tasting Drinking Water in Michigan (No. 1), American Water Works Association (Michigan Chapter). 2017 Urban Street Projects Award of Merit (Stadium Boulevard project), Asphalt Pavement Association of Michigan. 2017 Best Golf Course in Washtenaw County, Leslie Park Golf Course (No. 1), Current Magazine 2017 Readers' Choice Awards. 2017 Best Cities for a Green Career (No. 22), GoodCall.2017 Best Cities for Summer Internships (No. 13), GoodCall.2017 Best Cities for Teachers (K-12) (No. 70), GoodCall. 2017 Municipal Equality Index Perfect Score (100 points), Human Rights Foundation. 2017 Top 100 Best Places to Live 2017 (No. 3), Livability.com. Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council 2017 Organization Award, Transportation Asset Management Conference.2017 Best City to Live in America (No. 1), Niche.com. 2017 Safest Cities in the U.S. (No. 14 in Michigan), SafeHome. 2017 Best Green City for Families (No. 5), SmartAsset.2017 Least Stressed Cities in America (No. 20), SmartAsset. 2017 U.S. News Best High Schools in Michigan: Pioneer (No. 8) | Skyline (No. 15) | Huron (No. 29), U.S. News and World Report. 2017 Best Midsize City for Basketball Fans (No. 5), WalletHub.2017 Best Place to Raise a Family in Michigan (No. 10), WalletHub. 2017 Most Educated City in America (No. 1), WalletHub.2017 Top 10 Percent of Cities with the Highest Credit Scores, WalletHub. 2017 Best Midsized Sports City (No. 8), WalletHub.2016: Tree City USA (35th year), Arbor Day Foundation. Certified Bee City USA Affiliate.Best Digital City in the U.S. (No. 4), Center for Digital Government. Top City Secretly Great for Tech Grads (No. 6), DataFox. Best Place in the United States for K-12 Teachers to Live and Work (No. 3), GoodCall. 2016 Municipal Equality Index Perfect Score (100 points), Human Rights Foundation. Top 15 2016 Best Public High Schools in Michigan (Huron No. 7, Community No. 8, Skyline No. 10, Pioneer No. 12), k.12niche.com. 10 Best College Towns (No. 5), Livability.com. Top 100 Best Places to Live 2016, Livability.com.Gold Recognition, Michigan Green Communities. Best Tasting Water in the State (No.1), Michigan American Water Works Association.Best Mid-Size City for Making a Living (No. 6), MoneyGeek.com. Best City for Women in the Workforce 2016 (No. 7), NerdWallet. Best Cities to Live In 2016 (No. 4), Niche.com. Walk Friendly Community (one of seven in the U.S.), The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. Most Walkable Mid-sized Midwest Neighborhood (No. 1), Redfin. First Center of Excellence for Intelligent Traffic Technology, Siemens. America's Best Hockey Towns of 2016 (No. 9), SmartAsset.Best College Town to Live in (No. 5), SmartAsset.Best Green City in the U.S. for Families (No. 5), SmartAsset. Most Environmentally Friendly City (No. 16), ValuePenguin.Most Educated City 2016 (No. 1), WalletHub.com. 2015:50 Best College Towns to Live in Forever (No. 20), College Ranker, 2015.10 Most Beautiful Towns in Michigan, Culturetrip.com. Best Digital City in the U.S. (No. 4), e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government.Top 20 Municipal Golf Courses in America (Leslie Park Golf Course), Gearpatrol.com, 2015.10 Most Artistic Mid-sized Cities in America (No. 3), Gogobot. Planning Excellence Award for Best Practice - the Ann Arbor Downtown Street Design Manual, Michigan Association of Planning Board of Directors.Innovative Park Resources of the Year Award (for citizen pruner program), Michigan Recreation and Park Association, 2015. Park Design of the Year Award (for Veterans Memorial Park Skate Park), Michigan Recreation and Park Association, 2015.Highest-paying ZIP code in Michigan, according to U.S. Census data (No. 3), NerdWallet, 2015.Nation’s Most Innovative Tech Hub (No. 12), Nerdwallet.com, 2015. 100 Best Cities for Millennials in 2015, niche.com. Best College Towns of 2015(No. 7), SmartAsset. Top 9 Can’t-miss Summer Travel Hotspots, TripAdvisor.Best City for Sports Fans (No. 8), WalletHub.com.Best College City (No. 9), among medium-sized cities, WalletHub.com, 2015.Most Educated City (No. 1), WalletHub.com.
