Looking for a wise breakfast deal? Morgantown is it, according to the latest Morgantown Cost of Living Index, compiled by researchers in the WVU College of Business and Economics.

The cost of breakfast cooked at home (sausage, eggs, toast, orange juice, and coffeeenough to feed an average familywith some left over) in Morgantown is $11.26,said Amy Higginbotham, economist in the Colleges Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER).

This is well below the most expensive city for breakfast�€Honolulu, Hawaii, where the cost of such a meal would be almost twice as much at $22.

In fact, for professional households, Morgantown is easier on the wallet than many other cities. Morgantowns cost of living is about average for an urbanized area in the United States. Even better, Morgantown is an excellent place to be when a doctor is needed. The metropolitan area boasts the seventh highest rate of physicians per capita in the nation.

According to data from the American Medical Association, there were 843 physicians in the Morgantown area in 2003.

On a per capita basis that translates into 743 physicians per 100,000 residents,said George Hammond, BBER research associate professor. This is 2.6 times the metropolitan average.

Morgantown is also a good place for health care providers and teachers to find jobs. There has been significant job growth in education and health care in Morgantown since 2000, with 2,300 net new jobs by 2006. That translates into an annual rate of growth of 3.7 percent per year, compared to 2.1 percent for the state and 2.8 percent nationally.

The latest Morgantown MSA economic outlook calls for this strong job growth to continue during the next five years, reflecting in part the large capital expansions at the WVU Health Sciences Center and Monongalia General Hospital.

Overall, the health care sector of the local economy has contributed significantly to local economic growth and is expected to continue to boost job and income gains in the near future,Hammond concluded.

The March edition of the Morgantown MSA Economic Monitor , compiled by the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research, contains the full analysis of these trends. The Monitor is a quarterly publication of the BBER with underwriting support provided in part by Clear Mountain Bank.

Copies of the publication can be found atwww.bber.wvu.eduandwww.clearmountainbank.com. Information about the ACCRA Cost of Living Report can be found atwww.coli.org.