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Members of the Burkeholder Middle School perform during the Henderson Heritage Parade & Festival on Water St. Saturday, April 16, 2011.
By Jackie Valley (contact) 
Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011 | 1:05 p.m.
Henderson hasn’t escaped the sour economy gripping Southern Nevada, but it still managed to snag a spot on Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s list of best cities.
Citing good schools, a high median income and many restaurants, Bloomberg ranked Henderson No. 38 on its America’s 50 Best Cities report released earlier this week.
Henderson’s median household income is $67,819, with 28.2 percent of residents possessing a bachelor’s degree, according to the report. The city also boasts 410 restaurants, 39 bars, 15 museums, six colleges and 10 libraries.
Even so, the report’s comments about Henderson (population: 246,369) weren’t all kind.
“Along with the rest of the Vegas area, however, Henderson is suffering economically,” the report states. “The city has the second-worst foreclosure rate among cities on our list and unemployment well above the national average.”
Henderson’s unemployment stands at 12 percent, according to Bloomberg.
Businessweek.com compiled the report by evaluating 100 of the nation’s largest cities based on criteria such as the prevalence of restaurants, libraries, colleges and parks, as well as unemployment and foreclosure rates.
The top five cities, in order, were Raleigh, N.C., Arlington, Va., Honolulu, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Irvine, Calif.
Reno, the only other Nevada city on the list, ranked No. 44.
(If this were a story about how our metro area ranked "worst" in some list, there would already be 20 comments from the haters.)
lived in vegas 18 years, Henderson for 3... while this entire valley is nothing to brag about there is a big happy difference living in Henderson.. mainly a bit more pride in community and focus on family and outdoor activities
Interesting! Yesterday on CNN it was reported that Las Vegas took over the #1 spot for being the "Most Miserable City" in the US.
As Mr. Jackson so plainly illustrates, the haters will take any opportunity to spout their tired refrain. Henderson wouldn't exist without Las Vegas next door.
You want to live in a great neighborhood with a lot of families, activities for the kids, and community events?
We have a Mom's Club, Golf Club, a Neighborhood Watch, a Bunco Club, and other great groups!!
Look no further than Coventry Homes at Anthem... It's in Henderson, of course!!!
www.coventryneighborhoodwatch.com
I can remember when Henderson was a largely industrial area. There was (is?) a marshmallow plant, a Levi's factory, etc. Then PEPCON went boom!
At my job, we were on the same radio frequency with a glass plant out there. All we heard over the radio was, "The glass, The &&^%^$$ Glass!" and then there was a big, pink, cloud over the area. Blew out every windshield at a Cadillac dealership out there. Google it, the videos are amazing.
How times have changed.
I like the GV / Anthem area, but the traffic is a killer. Henderson city officials have done a much better job than NLV, (where I live, near Aliante) in managing growth. Kudos to them and the Greenspun Family. You didn't think they called it Green Valley because of the trees, did you?
Reza... you're absolutely right Henderson wouldn't be more than a pit stop if it wasn't for Las Vegas. However take two by products of Las Vegas who went through the same boom...NLV and Henderson, which do you think did a better job? Exactly.
Henderson is great. everyone keep moving there. they arent full yet. push the houses even closer together. dont forget to use your gps so you can get thru the unplanned maze of roads and streets. keep ur blinders on...you just might like it.
I've been looking for the perfect commentary on what a pathetic trailer park the entire COUNTRY has become. THIS IS IT! Only 37 cities outrank Henderson in the entire country - that is just SO laughable. Tell me something - can any of you look at all the houses on your block and not find at least TWO that look like junkyards or auto salvage operations? Does anyone not have some imbecile with a 200 decibel motorcycle or pickup truck living within 200 feet? I doubt it.