Looking for more reasons to consider Bloomington? The following awards and accolades will grab your attention!

Parks and Recreation

• National Gold-Medal Award winning Parks and Recreation Department.
• One of only 78 accredited Parks and Recreation agencies in the country.
• Tree City designee for the past quarter century.

City of Bloomington Indiana

• One of few cities in the nation with an Employee Services’ training program designated as an International Association for Continuing Education & Training Authorized Provider.
• A recipient of the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada, the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting.

Community

• Recipient of the American Heart Association START! Fit Friendly Company Gold Achievement Award.
• The state’s “Best Walking City” by Prevention magazine.
• Nationally recognized as a leader on disability and accessibility issues including being a finalist for the National Organization on Disability (NOD) community accessibility award.
• A community with 18,000 public trees, 40 parks and 2,300 acres of City-owned green space
• Awarded first annual “Green Community of the Year” by Indiana Association of Cities and Towns.
• Home to Lotus World Music & Arts Festival, one of the top such festivals (and at 15 years, the longest running) in the nation.
• Location of 1979 Academy Award Winning film Breaking Away.
• One of nation’s top Bicycle Friendly Cities.
• A Top 10 Place to Live by Men’s Journal Magazine.
• Among best in “Retire in Style: 60 Outstanding Places Across the USA and Canada.”
• National Geographic Top 50 adventure towns.
• Bloomington MSA is #13 nationwide for percentage of artists in the labor force.
• One of 41 Sports Destinations to Watch by SportsEvents Magazine.
• Number one gay and lesbian friendly small town by Advocate.com.
• One of the most prosperous university towns in the Midwest by the Federal Reserve Bank.
• National Geographic Top Small Towns in which to Live and Play.
• A Playful City USA for 2008.
• Bloomington ranks in the Top 10 percentage of artists in the workforce in the following occupations: Musicians (4th); Writers and authors (5th); and Designers (8th).
• 2008 Community Partner Award by Stone Belt, ARC.
• Bloomington is home to the nation's fifth largest per-capita population of same-sex couples.
• Bloomington Hospital given 2007 outstanding achievement award for its cancer programs by Commission on Cancer.
• Named a "Top 10 City for School and Life After Graduation" by Livability.
• One of "The New Best Places to Retire" by SmartMoney.
• Named top 2010 American in Bloom community.
• One of the "Top 10 Places to Start a Fall Foliage Tour" by Livability.com

Business

• #6 among top 2007 Best Small Places for Business and Careers by Forbes Magazine.
• Top 20 best cities in America for doing business by Inc. Magazine.
• #7 Best Performing City in 2007 by the Milken Institute for our concentration of high-tech jobs.
• Ranked 16th overall among 179 small metros by the Milken Institute in job growth, wages and technology growth
• Home to over 70 independently owned and operated restaurants in the downtown area.

Education

• IU-Bloomington named Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.
• Home to top-ranked Music, Business and Public & Environmental Affairs Schools in the world.
• Home to Big Ten athletics, numerous national titles and Little 500 Weekend.
• WonderLab Museum of Science, Health & Technology named a Top 25 Science Museum by Parents Magazine.
• A Top College Town by USA Today.
• Kelley School of Business Green Award for use of soy biodiesel fuel and hybrid electric buses.
• Jacobs SOM offers over 1,000 public musical performances/events per year.
• Home to one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the nation Ivy Tech-Bloomington