The Greater Wilmington area routinely garners praise for its favorable business climate, exceptional arts and cultural scene, breadth of tourist attractions, prolific area residents, beautiful beaches...well, we could go on and on, but we'll let the accolades speak for themselves:

Wilmington Ranks #13 in Forbes Magazine's "Best Places for Business and Careers"

Wilmington Ranks #14 in Fortune Small Business Magazine's "Best Places to Launch a Business"

Coastal Living Magazine Names Wilmington a Coastal Dream Town

MovieMaker Magazine Names Cucalorus Film Festival One of 25 Coolest

Triathlete Magazine Names Wilmington "Triathlete's Top 20 Best Places to Live"

MovieMaker Magazine Ranks Wilmington One of the Best Places to Live

NC Holiday Flotilla Selected as Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event

Wilmington Named One of 2008 Dozen Distinctive Destinations

Outside Magazine Names Wilmington One of 2008 Best Towns

UNC-Wilmington consistently ranks among the Top 10 Public Universities in the South in the US News & World Report's list of Best Colleges Among Regional Universities. It also ranks among the best public and private regional universities in the South in the US News & World Report "America's Best Colleges" guidebook. UNCW's undergraduate marine biology program is ranked among the best in the world by the Gourman Report: A Rating of Undergraduate Programs in American and International Universities.

Frommer's Budget Travel 2006  Lists Wilmington, NC Among the Nation's Most Walkable Cities

Wilmington Named One of The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America (Countryman Press, 2005)

AOL City Guide Lists "Cape Fear/Wilmington, NC" Among Top 10 U.S. Beaches (2005)

Golf Digest Ranks Wilmington Metro Region as the 8^th Best Metro Golfing Area in the Country for Value, Accessibility and Quality (2002 and 2005)

American Style Magazine (Summer 2002) Names Wilmington One of "10 Great Arts Places"

Surfer Magazine (Feb. 2002) Lists Wrightsville Beach One of Top 10 Best Places to Surf

Modern Maturity magazine (May-June 2000) Lists Wilmington Among "The 50 Most Alive Places To Live" and Ranked Wilmington as #5 in the "Quirky" Category for Historical Attributes and Modern Pursuits Such as Moviemaking