Mitchell, S.D. – The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) recently released a comprehensive ranking of intelligent communities grouped by population, and Mitchell is No. 4 among communities with populations fewer than 50,000 on the international list.
Mitchell is no stranger to the Intelligent Communities recognition. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, the community was named to the ICF’s Top 21 Smart Cities, and in 2015, was also among the prestigious Top 7 Intelligent Communities worldwide. Although applications for the process have not been submitted in recent years, community data is updated annually with the ICF by the Mitchell Area Development Corporation (MADC).
“Our world-class healthcare, award-winning public and private K-12 and postsecondary education, comprehensive broadband connectivity and our variety of recreational opportunities make Mitchell the perfect place to call home,” said Mark Vaux, executive director of the MADC and Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce. “Our continued ICF recognition is a pride point for our community.”
This is the first list of its kind since the ICF, a New York-based think tank, began its research on intelligent community development more than 20 years ago.
The Top 10 Intelligent Communities by Population list is the latest publication in ICF’s By the Numbers series, according to an ICF press release. It provides a guide to the relative strengths of communities in ICF’s network and an inspiration for progress in coming years.
The lists rank Intelligent Communities in a global data set using information provided over the past five years and divides them into population groups from 50,000 and under to 1 million and over. It incorporates results from the Smart21, Top7 and Intelligent Community of the Year evaluations of the past five years to ensure accuracy. This data is weighted to balance the self-reported and third-party data of the Smart21 evaluation and the data from later stages of evaluation that is subject to on-site validation.
Top 10 Intelligent Communities, Population 50,000 and Under
| Ranking |
Community |
Population (EST) |
| 1 |
Whanganui, New Zealand |
40,300 |
| 2 |
Stratford, Ontario, Canada |
31,500 |
| 3 |
Walla Walla Valley, Washington, USA |
31,731 |
| 4 |
Mitchell, South Dakota, USA |
15,800 |
| 5 |
Nelson, British Columbia, Canada |
10,664 |
| 6 |
Parkland County, Alberta, Canada |
32,000 |
| 7 |
Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA |
40,000 |
| 8 |
Armidale, New South Wales, Australia |
23,352 |
| 9 |
Olds, Alberta, Canada |
9,184 |
| 10 |
Hudson, Ohio, USA |
22,389 |
Click here for a full list in all population categories.
