Synopses & Reviews
The Latest Facts & Figures on the Best Places to Live in North America!
For anyone thinking about relocatingor interested in the demographics of American lifeCities Ranked & Rated offers unbeatable insights into more than 400 metropolitan areas in the United States and Canada. Data is provided by Bert Sperling, creator of Money magazines original "Best Places to Live" list.
This unique guide combines honest opinions and objective facts to help readers compare cities quickly and comprehensively.
- Data on the 45 fastest growing U.S. cities
- Seperate rankings for Canadian citiesand comparisons to their U.S. equivalents
- Easy-to-read charts showing the best and worst U.S. cities in over 50 categories
- State-level comparisons of population densities, taxes, government expenditures, educational testing, and more
- Details on how to find more information at Bestplaces.net/CRAR
Highlights Include:
- The strongest job outlook
- The lowest cost of living
- The most days of sunshine
- The best educational opportunites
- The best air and water quality
- The lowest healthcare costs
- The lowest crime rate
- The shortest daily commute
- The lowest automobile costs
- The most leisure amenities
Synopsis
Cities Ranked & Rated: Your Guide to the Best Places to Live in the U.S. & Canada provides timely facts and unbiased information on over 400 U.S. and 30 Canadian cities in an easy-to-access format. Whether you're mulling over the idea of relocating, trying to decide where to start out, or just curious about how your hometown stacks up, you’ll be intrigued by Cities Ranked & Rated. In addition to providing population statistics, each city is ranked on a number of essential factors, many of which are of vital interest in today's economy. Categories include: economy and jobs, cost of living, climate, education, health and health care, crime, transportation, leisure, and arts and culture. Easy-to-use tables help you put this wealth of information to work to find the city that best suits your special needs and interests.
Synopsis
This guidebook provides timely facts and unbiased information on over 400 U.S. and 30 Canadian cities in an easy-to-access format. Whether readers are mulling over the idea of relocating, trying to decide where to start out, or just curious about how their hometown stacks up, they'll be intrigued by this volume.
About the Author
Bert Sperling has been choosing our country’s Best Places for 20 years. He created
Money magazine’s original “Best Places to Live” list, and his work continues to appear in the media on a monthly basis. His studies have become part of our national culture, appearing in
The Simpsons, Jay Leno jokes, and questions on
Jeopardy. His website, Sperling’s BestPlaces (www.bestplaces.net), has become a popular Internet resource, and provides content to other sites such as Yahoo!, MSN, eBay, and the
Wall Street Journal.Annually, his “Healthiest Cities for Women” study is featured in SELF magazine. Other recent projects include “Best Places to Retire” (MSN), “Best Cities for Women” (Ladies’ Home Journal), “Great College Towns” (Newsweek), “This Town Rocks! Best Cities for Teens” (Seventeen), “Best Places to Buy a Second Home” (Smart Money), “Best Places to Raise an Outdoor Family” (Outdoor Explorer), “Hot Dating in Small Towns (MTV), “America’s Best City to Live” and “Most Energetic City” (USA Weekend) and features in Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Men’s Fitness, and Kiplinger’s.
Bert currently makes his home in Portland and Depoe Bay, Oregon, after living in Kodiak (Alaska), Carmel Valley (California), Key West (Florida), San Diego (California), Brooklyn, Hempstead, and East Meadow (New York), Norfolk (Virginia), and Oslo, Norway.
Peter Sander is a professional author, researcher, and consultant in the fields of business and personal finance. He has written eight books including Value Investing For Dummies, The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Living on a Budget, Everything Personal Finance, and Niche and Grow Rich. His educational background includes an MBA in Logistics Management from Indiana University and a BA in Urban Affairs and Administration from Miami University of Ohio, and professional training and examination as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP™). His career includes 20 years as a marketing and logistics specialist for a major high-tech firm. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and now living in Granite Bay, California, he has traveled in all 50 U.S. states.
Table of Contents
About the Authors.
Introduction.
PART I: FINDING YOUR BEST PLACE TO LIVE.
Chapter 1: The Places.
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).
Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs).
What’s Included in Cities Ranked & Rated?
Chapter 2: The Rankings.
About the Cities Ranked & Rated Model.
Reading the Ranking Report.
Chapter 3: The Categories.
Reading the Data.
Use of Data for Ranking & Scoring.
Population.
Economy & Jobs.
Cost of Living.
Climate.
Education.
Health & Healthcare.
Crime.
Transportation.
Leisure.
Arts & Culture.
Quality of Life.
Chapter 4: The States.
How Cities Ranked & Rated Compares States.
Overall Rankings.
Population.
Physical Environment.
Economy.
Table 0.1: U.S. States & Postal Codes.
Table 0.2: U.S. Population Mobility, 1990-2001.
Table 0.3: Reasons for Moving, 2000-2001.
Table 1.1: Principal U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
Table 1.2: Canada Census Metropolitan Areas.
Table 1.3: Emerging U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
Table 2.1: The Top 30 U.S. Metropolitan Areas.
Table 2.2: The Bottom 30 U.S. Metropolitan Areas.
Table 2.3: Ranking Report Sample.
Table 2.4: U.S. Metropolitan Areas by Rank.
Table 2.5: U.S. Metropolitan Areas by Alphabetical Sequence with Rank.
Table 3.1: Net Gain or Loss in Population by Region.
Table 3.2: Sample Population Data from Charlottesville, Virginia.
Table 3.3: Most Sprawl-Threatened Cities.
Table 3.4: Largest & Smallest Metropolitan Areas.
Table 3.5: Fastest Growing Metropolitan Areas.
Table 3.6: Declining & Slowest Growing Metropolitan Areas.
Table 3.7: Population Density.
Table 3.8: Diversity Measure.
Table 3.9: Sample Economy & Jobs Data from Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Table 3.10: Household Income.
Table 3.11: Household Income Growth.
Taxation.
Education.
Politics.
Safety & Safety Consciousness.
PART II: EVALUATING THE CITIES.
Chapter 5: Principal U.S. Metropolitan Areas.
City Profiles.
City Descriptions & Data.
Chapter 6: Canada Metropolitan Areas.
Ranking & Rating Canadian Cities.
Data Sources.
City Descriptions & Data.
Chapter 7: Emerging U.S. Metropolitan Areas.
Ranking & Rating Emerging Cities.
City Descriptions & Data.
APPENDIX: CATEGORY RANKINGS OF PRINCIPAL U.S. METROPOLITAN AREAS.
INDEX.