Enjoy a recap of some of our favorite stories, rankings and headlines of 2024!
Best of the Best
NW Arkansas Continued to Rank Among Best Places to Live
When it came to 2024 “Best of” lists and rankings, NW Arkansas secured more than its fair share of top spots:
- For a third year in a row, NW Arkansas was listed among the Milken Institute’s top 10 Best-Performing Cities, moving up to No. 7 in the 2024 rankings. The Best-Performing Cities (BPC) rankings evaluate the performance of 403 metropolitan areas across the US based on 13 indicators that cover labor market conditions, high-tech impact, and access to economic opportunities.
- Money celebrated three NWA communities within its annual “50 Best Places to Live in the U.S.” list including Fayetteville, Rogers and Eureka Springs. The meticulous research that produced the list payed special attention to those deeply invested in the livability, equity and sustainability of their communities.
- Staying in the spotlight, Bentonville was named among the The South’s Best Cities and Best Cities On The Rise by Southern Living.
- Based on Livability, Lovability and Prosperity, the region landed just above Chattanooga, TN at No. 79 in “America’s 100 Best Cities Report” by the Resonance Consultancy. Highlighted rankings for the metro area included No. 22 for Cost of Living and No. 22 for Attractions.
- Finally, after analyzing 105 metro areas of more than 500,000 based on seven key metrics, CommercialCafe ranked NW Arkansas No. 9 among the Best Places for Millennials to Live & Work in 2024. The ranking was attributed to the region’s robust job market and diverse professional opportunities.
Bike-Friendliest
Cycling Through 2024
With 560 miles of soft-surface trails, 206 miles of shared-use paved trails, and hundreds of miles of gravel roads on our doorstep, the region’s standing as a haven for cyclists of all stripes continued to be a point of national and global recognition.
- Due to the number of easy and intermediate MTB trails to offer those learning the sport, Bike Mag named Bentonville the Top Beginner Mountain Biking Destination in the U.S.
- Down the road and home to the 3rd most Bicycle Friendly Businesses, plus 154 trails including 50 miles of paved bike trails and growing, Fayetteville was called a great sleeper destination for cyclists by Outside Magazine in its list of The 10 Best Bike Towns in America.
- GearJunkie looked beyond the region’s MTB and bicycle commuting infrastructure, and noted that the region is emerging as a hotspot for bikepacking, touring, bikerafting, bike angling, and all things adventure cycling. With 750 miles of bikepacking trails running through the Ozarks, the next chapter of Oz is pre-destined to become a hub for multi-day adventure cycling trips.
- This year, we also witnessed the grand opening of a state-of-the-art Cycling and Trails Education Center at NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC), which houses a first-of-its-kind trail technician program and the college’s existing bicycle technician program. NWACC now offers certificates in trail technician, management, construction and management, and trails and community development—putting NW Arkansas at the forefront of trail building education internationally.
- Speaking of trail building, Horseshoe Canyon Ranch unveiled a brand-new network of mountain bike trails.
- Lastly, using NW Arkansas as a training base leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics, USA Cycling athletes Haley Batten (who captured USA’s fist silver medal in mountain biking), Salivia Blunk, Riley Amos and Christopher Blevins all helped bring more global recognition to the region as a world-class destination for cycling.
Honorable mention: With the medal count of current and former Razorback athletes (8 medals) plus Fayetteville-trained professionals (7 medals), the region’s Olympic medal count would have landed it at 14th globally, just behind Canada and Uzbekistan.
📷 : Bentoville
Culinary Accolades and Stories
Our Taste Buds Rejoiced!
- Chefs Rafael Rios (Yeyo’s El Alma de Mexico) and Matthew Cooper (Conifer) both secured James Beard Foundation semifinalist nominations for Best Chef: South, one of the nation’s most prestigious culinary honors.
- Selected from over 2,000 entries, products from both Pink House Alchemy (Elixirs) and Onyx Coffee Lab (Chocolate) were named 14th annual Good Food Award finalists, with the Madagascar Dark Chocolate and Chai Milk Chocolate + Pink Peppercorn Terroir Chocolates by Onyx ultimately securing wins. Onyx Coffee Lab was also named the No. 4 Best Independent Coffee Shop in the U.S. by USA Today.
- Yelp ranked Wright’s Barbecue the best barbecue joint in the United States!
- Black Apple won two prizes at the 2024 Cidercraft international competition and took home the Oscar of International Cider Awards with its Blackberry Cider.
- Both Tusk & Trotter and Herman’s Ribhouse were named to the 2024 Arkansas Food Hall of Fame.
- On their way to opening a brick and mortar in 2025, Bentoville’s Michelin-starred chefs Billy Kong and Shinichiro Takagi curated a full year of unforgettable food concerts.
- Before all was said and done, we drooled over the Eater’s Guide to Bentonville and 12 Best Restaurants in Fayetteville by Southern Living.
World-Class Health Care
$700M and more AWSOM-NESS for the region
In September, the Alice L. Walton Foundation, Mercy, and Heartland Whole Health Institute announced a 30-year, $700 million affiliation agreement in a joint effort to expand access to health care, reduce costs, and improve health outcomes in the Heartland. The collaboration includes Cleveland Clinic, which will contribute world-class cardiovascular expertise to the effort. Mercy will invest $350 million to build a new cardiac care center of excellence on its Rogers campus and provide resources for additional physician recruitment. The Alice L. Walton Foundation will provide $350 million in part to develop an outpatient center of excellence for specialty care, including new cardiac services and virtual care in Bentonville, and to attract, train and retain physicians for the region.
In addition to this announcement, the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine (AWSOM), who will work with Mercy as a primary education partner, reached an historic accreditation milestone. The preliminary accreditation status has allowed AWSOM to begin recruiting students to its new campus in Bentonville. AWSOM also announced that it will waive tuition for its first five cohorts of students. Applications are now open for the School’s inaugural class of 48 students.
Both announcements further the region’s aim and steadfast commitment to become a destination for care and a national example of how to provide health care in new and innovative ways. For more details on the roadmap to strengthen Northwest Arkansas’ health care system, the recently released “Northwest Arkansas Health Care Vision 2030 Report” outlines progress and future goals to transform health care in the region.
Miscellaneous
A Region in a Category of Its Own
These annual wrap-ups make it a monumental challenge to resist rattling off every exciting achievement the region has accomplished over the year. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. So, we’re wrapping up with a little catch-all list before calling it a year:
- Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) continued to increase the number of nonstop destinations and is projected to set a new record for annual passengers by topping 1.1 million enplanements by the conclusion of 2024.
- Naismith Hall of Fame coach John Calipari, who has led six teams to the Final Four, was named the 14th Razorback head men’s basketball coach.
- The University of Arkansas was also recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the Best Colleges for Future Leaders.
- The revived Luther George Park re-opened, and now boasts a performance pavilion that can host events for up to 3,000 people, enhanced play areas, unique outdoor spaces, and shady seating along the creek in downtown Springdale.
- With 49 shows and $40 million in revenue, the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion (AMP) posted record ticket sales and attendance this year.
- In May, an estimated $1.5 trillion of investable capital was represented by attendees of the Midcon VC Summit held in Bentonville. More recently, the VC Immersions series by StartupNWA, hosted 35+ Venture Capital firms and facilitated over 260 meetings with Heartland startups.
- Lifehacker found Bentonville to be among the Best Unexpected U.S. Cities for Tech Jobs.
- Meanwhile, Axios found that NW Arkansas was among the country’s AI job hot spots as well as emerging as one of America’s new innovation hotspots—both promising signs for the future of the region.
- Last but not least, following the devastating tornadoes that struck Benton County over Memorial Day weekend, neighbors across the region stepped up in countless ways to support those impacted. Regional efforts included the launch of the Benton County Relief Fund, which distributed over $2 million to aid storm-affected individuals and families. #NWAStrong
