With a confluence of new talent and downtown revitalization, Magic City has long been on its way. Today, the city’s economy—the one Forbes predicted as a Top 10 promising job market in early 2020—is ascendant, lifted by a roster of large companies across biotechnology, banking, engineering and beverages. Regions Financial Corporation is headquartered here, doing business alongside Vulcan Materials and others—earning the city its #39 Large Companies ranking. That makes for some serious magnetism: Birmingham has attracted tens of thousands of new residents and many highly skilled workers, charmed by the city’s opportunity, good eating and low poverty rate—#19 in our rankings. New developments and the adaptive reuse of the city’s historic buildings, warehouses and fields are everywhere: The Painted Lady, a 22-room boutique hotel, just opened in the century-old Eyer-Raden Building, and the city’s historic Tutwiler Hotel is set to undergo a $7-million renovation. Those drawn to Birmingham will find a wealth of culture and history, including the largest museum in the Southeast and a buzzing jazz scene. Meanwhile, the city continues to educate the world about its history as the battlefield of America’s Civil Rights Movement, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is an essential visit.