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Research finds Florence among
most affordable cities in the United States

By Ty West
Staff Writer, TimesDaily

Published: July 15. 2006 in the TimesDaily newspaper

It didn't take Jerica Wood long to realize the difference in the cost of living between Birmingham and the Shoals.

After graduating with a business degree from the University of North-Alabama in 2002, Wood immediately- took a job in Birmingham.

Aside from her rent payment, which was more than $1,000 a month for a two-bedroom apartment, Wood said the costs of utilities and groceries were high, as well.

So, when an opportunity to move back to the Shoals became available, she took it.

"Here, I live in a nice brick house, paying less than $1,000 a month, and I'm building equity and owning a home," Wood said. "The cost of living is a lot better."

Wood's experiences are confirmed by a recent study from the ERI Economic Research Institute, which ranks Florence as the fifth most affordable city in the country for new college graduates.

The ranking is based on a number of cost-of-living factors, such as housing, utility costs, groceries and other costs, as well as annual salaries for a number of five entry-level positions: accounting, law, teaching, sales and engineering.

Out of the 261 cities ranked, the Shoals had one of the lowest cost-of-living rankings, at 19.1 below the national average. The average salaries for the area were 10 percent below the national average.

Wood said that because of the high cost of living in larger cities, it could benefit new college graduates more to move to an area with a low cost of living.

"Even if it is a little less pay, you'll be making more in the long run," Wood said.

Florence Mayor Bobby Irons and other local leaders were thrilled to hear about the results of the study and said they plan to use the ranking as a way to attract that much-desired age group to the Shoals.

Irons said the city will use the ranking along with the high quality of life, good educational system and recreational opportunities as a way to market the area to college graduates.

"It's a really good selling point," Shoals Chamber of Commerce President Steve Holt said. "In combination with the fact that we've been named the safest metro area in Alabama, those are two strong criteria for (recruiting) college growth."

With three colleges in the area, Holt said the ranking could help keep college graduates. "It's important because of the 'brain drain,' and that age group will provide our future leadership and stability."

Holt said new college graduates tend to bring up an area's income and education level, which is important when recruiting new businesses.

Based on her experiences with helping new college graduates find jobs, Patricia Blum, director of the University of North Alabama Career Services, said keeping students in the area typically depends more on providing jobs for the them.

"I think the main thing is having the jobs available," Blum said. "It's kind of sad, but a lot of students don't think about the cost issues. (Sometimes) they want a big, exciting city."

Blum said the main fields she has students leaving the area for are generally business careers. She said that many of the area's accounting firms are small, and so many companies have only one human resources position, which is difficult to get if a college graduate doesn't have on-the-job experience.

Florence Mayor Bobby Irons said the area needs to continue diversifying its recruitment of new companies to attract a good mix of industrial and manufacturing jobs, but also high-tech fields and business jobs that are attractive to new college graduates.

Along with Huntsville, which ranked 10th on the list, Irons said it would serve the Shoals well to capitalize on the high-tech corridor in north Alabama, by recruiting technologically advanced jobs and thus recruit college students from across the country.