Seattle’s Livability Lauded in New Study, Seattle Still Trails Bay Area in Annual ‘Tech Talent’ Report, But City’s Labor Pool Quality Ranks Highest, High-speed Rail Connecting Seattle to Vancouver BC Would Spur $355B in Economic Growth, and more in this week’s Seattle in the Spotlight.

Despite its Challenges, Seattle’s Livability Lauded in New Study (Photos)

Puget Sound Business Journal | Robert S. Johnson | July 17

“Seattle, bolstered by historic growth during the past decade, has solidified its reputation as one of the most desirable U.S. cities in which to live.  WalletHub, which ranks everything from best beer cities to best places to get a job, released its rankings of the top big cities to in which to live in the U.S. on Tuesday. The Emerald City has the highest percentage of the population that is 25 or older and holds at least a high school diploma, and is first in both income growth and access to public transportation. It also is fifth in the percentage for insured population, factors which helped Seattle score high in metrics for economy, education and health and quality of life.”

Seattle Still Trails Bay Area in Annual ‘Tech Talent’ Report, But City’s Labor Pool Quality Ranks Highest

GeekWire | Kurt Schlosser | July 17

“In the battle for tech hub supremacy, Seattle still trails the San Francisco Bay Area in CBRE’s annual Scoring Tech Talent Report, a ranking of the top 50 North American markets for attracting, retaining and growing tech talent. But Seattle has edged ahead in one key metric, ranking No. 1 with the quality of its tech labor pool. That second distinction is measured by the concentration of software engineers and developers with over three years of experience and degrees from the top 25 computer science programs in North America. Seattle is also the top market for educational attainment for adults over the age of 25 with 62.3 percent of this group holding a bachelor’s degree or higher — twice the national average.”

Study: High-speed Rail Connecting Seattle to Vancouver BC Would Spur $355B in Economic Growth

GeekWire | Monica Nickelsburg | July 15

“A high-speed train connecting the biggest cities in the Pacific Northwest — zipping passengers from Seattle to Portland or Vancouver in less than an hour — would be an economic engine for the region, a new study finds. The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) published the results of a years-long study this week. It estimates that a high-speed rail connecting Portland, Ore., Seattle, and Vancouver, B.C. would spark $335 billion in economic growth in the region. The proposed project has backing from government leaders in the Northwest and the software behemoth that calls it home. Microsoft donated $300,000 to help with the costs of studying high-speed rail’s feasibility. The study confirms previous estimates that the project would cost $24 billion to $42 billion and estimates the rail line would generate between $160 million and $250 million in annual revenue.”