Awards & Accolades

Dubuque 3rd Best in U.S. for Job Growth

2010
Dubuque's job growth has been cited as among the best in the entire U.S. by Careerbuilder.com. In comparing the 281 largest metros in the U.S., Dubuque's job growth of 2.1% ranked as third best in the nation. Of the 77 metros that saw job gains, Dubuque was one of just three that saw growth of better than 2%.

Dubuque Named Top Ten Most Affordable Places to Live and Work

2009
Dubuque was named one of the ten 'Most Affordable Places to Live and Work' by Sperling's Best Places based on having a good supply of jobs, low cost of living, affordable housing, and a great quality of life.

Dubuque Named a 'Crown Community'

2009
American City & County magazine named Dubuque a 'Crown Community' in recognition of outstanding leadership in local government. Dubuque's nomination featured the partnerships and collaboration among the City of Dubuque, Greater Dubuque Development Corp., State of Iowa, Iowa Department of Economic Development, Iowa Workforce Development, Dubuque Initiatives, area colleges and universities, and local financial institutions that resulted in IBM's decision to locate a new global technology service delivery center that will employ 1,300 in downtown Dubuque.

Click here to view digital version of the magazine.

Greater Dubuque Recognized for Service to Existing Businesses

2009
Greater Dubuque Development was recognized by the Mid-American Economic Development Council for its service to exising businesses. Greater Dubuque's InfoAction program was ranked #1 as the judges noted that the program produces a real record of results as indicated by its superior benchmarking, and that the overall program is outstanding, well documented, and professionally executed.

Dubuque Wins Award for Excellence in Economic Development

2009
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke awarded Dubuque the 2009 Excellence in Economic Development Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation-led Strategies. Locke said Dubuque received the award for its commitment to research-based, market driven economic development in helping grow the local economy.

“The city of Dubuque represents the best and brightest in 21st century economic development,” Locke said. “Excellence Award winners exemplify the importance of supporting regional strategies to ensure American communities succeed in the global marketplace and create higher-skill, higher-wage jobs.”

“Dubuque sets the gold standard for a community taking charge of its economic destiny by revitalizing its downtown historic district in order to attract new businesses and dramatically increase tourism,” Senator Tom Harkin said. “These revitalized areas, along with the city’s business-friendly environment, have made Dubuque a magnet for new businesses and industries. The 2009 Excellence in Economic Development award will continue to make Dubuque a role model for cities around the country.”

Dubuque Named to 'America's Top 100 Places to Live'

2009
RelocateAmerica.com, a website that provides relocating consumers and area residents with access to local community resources, has included Dubuque in its annual listing of 'America's Top 100 Places to Live for 2009.'

"With the increasing concern on our nation's economy and recovering housing market, we approached this year's list with a different lens than in previous years. We concentrated on the outlook for future growth and ability to rebound in the communities that we selected," said Steve Nickerson, president and CEO. "We looked at the local government and the business leadership in each community as we considered this year's winners. We selected communities with visionary leaders, improving or thriving economies including housing & realization of "green" initiatives."

Best Business Retention and Expansion Program

2009
Greater Dubuque Development’s InfoAction program was recognized as the top program in North America for a mid-sized community with a population under 100,000. The awards are judged on the success of the marketing/communications plan, improvements to the business climate, measurable results and outcomes, and the business survey plan.

2008 Top Ten Metro

2009
Dubuque was named as a “2008 Top Ten Metro” with population less than 200,000. The award comes as recognition of successful economic development project generation.

Dubuque Named ‘Most Livable’ Small City in U.S.

2008
Dubuque was named as the ‘Most Livable’ Small City by the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) 2008 Livability Awards Program during the USCM Annual Meeting. Dubuque’s application featured the America’s River project and the public/private partnerships and community involvement that transformed the Port of Dubuque into a destination that captures the historical, environmental, educational and recreational majesty of the Mississippi River.

Best Communities for Musical Education

2008
NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) named the Dubuque Community School District as one of the 110 best communities for musical education. The survey took into account funding, enrollment, student/teacher ratios, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program, private music lesson participation, and other relevant factors in each community's music education programs. “We commend these school districts for their commitment to assuring that music is part of a complete education for children,” said Mary Luehrsen, executive director, NAMM Foundation. “It takes the commitment of an entire community to assure that music is part of the core curriculum. Children engaged in music will be the innovation leaders of tomorrow, and there is no better way to build life-long participation in music than with a solid base of music education.”

Best Green Places

2008
Dubuque was named to the top 100 Best Green Places in America, by Country Home Magazine. Country Home Magazine's Best Green Places report analyzed hundreds of cities on key points such as official energy policies, green power, green buildings, and the availability of fresh, locally grown food.

100 Best Communities for Youth

2008
Because of its commitment to provide healthy, safe and caring environments for young people, Dubuque was named as one of the 100 best communities for youth. The national competition included applicants from hundreds of communities in all 50 states.

All-America City

2007
Dubuque was named one of the 10 best. The All-America City award title is the oldest and most prestigious civic recognition competition in the United States. The winners were selected in part for their ability to engage a broad cross section of the community, including youth, business leaders, elected officials, city staff and nonprofit groups, in civic dialogues leading to tangible results.

Best Cities & Boom Towns

2007
Dubuque ranks 22nd out of 393. With perennial favorites like Las Vegas, Phoenix, and eight metro areas in Florida, Dubuque is the only Iowa city listed in the overall U.S. Top 25. Moreover, Dubuque is the only Midwest city in the entire U.S. Top 25 rankings.

Best Small Places for Business

2007
Dubuque ranks 15th out of 179 cities and is one of a select group of their population size to host a major, state-sponsored university. In the same Forbes Magazine report, Dubuque’s rank for job-growth led all other Iowa cities, according to the magazine’s five-year, annualized figures.

Biggest Mover

2007
Inc. Magazine described Dubuque as the “biggest mover” on the Best Cities & Boomtown rankings among smaller cities.

10 Low-cost locales where jobs are plenty

2008
Dubuque was named one of 10. MSN Real Estate focused on areas with a low cost of living, good job prospects and a high quality of life.

100 Best Communities for Youth

2007
Because of its commitment to provide healthy, safe and caring environments for young people, Dubuque was named as one of the 100 best communities for youth.The national competition included applicants from hundreds of communities in all 50 states.

5-Star Public School

2007
Dubuque was one of 72 cities, out of a total of 383 cities nationwide., that were designated as 5-Star. Considerations include college entrance exam scores, graduation rates, teachers’ salaries, per pupil spending, student-teacher ratio, median household income, adult education levels, and child poverty rate.

5-Star Quality of Life Metro

2007
Dubuque placed in the top 20 percent (72 out of 383) of all cities studied, thus receiving the 5-Star designation. Evaluation is based on affordable housing, a quality public school system, low crime levels, adult education levels, standard of living, traffic, commuting, continuing education opportunities, commercial air access, and the labor market.

Top Job Growth

2006
Moody’s Economy.com ranked Dubuque 22nd in the U.S. for job growth, ahead of giant cities like Dallas and Orlando.

Iowa Great Place

2006
Dubuque was named as one of 6. Iowa Great Places have a unique sense of place; engaging experiences; a rich, diverse social fabric; a vital, creative economy; a pleasing environment; a strong foundation; and a creative culture.

Urban Pioneer Award

2006
This award is in recognition of Dubuque’s 20-year commitment to the revitalization of the city’s center.

5-Star Quality of Life Metro

2006
Dubuque was recognized as one of 73 cities. Rankings were determined by nine major categories: affordable housing, good public schools, peace of mind, a balanced standard of living, broad opportunities for adult education, reasonable traffic and commuting, good commercial air access, a high adult education level and, from an employer’s perspective, a young, reasonably-priced work force from which to find good employees.

Easiest Commute to Work

2006
Dubuque ranked 4th out of 362 cities analyzed.

U.S. Top 25 for Job growth

2006
This ranking reflects the actual job growth rates of 387 U.S. cities between 2005-2006.