Places Rated Almanac: The Classic Guide for Finding Your Best Places to Live in America 7th ed (2007)

673 Pages·2007·1.2 MB·English

by  David Savageau

25th Anniversary Edition
PlacesR ated
Almanac
(cid:57)
Philadelphia:
(cid:57)
History-filled, liberal
Madison:Bad
and diverse, with rapid
winters, books and
rail and 10,000 doctors
bureaucrats, Badgers and
brats, good restaurants
to boot
(cid:57)
Miami:Condo boom
and bust in a crime fiction
setting with tropical summers
The Classic Guide for Finding Your Best
Places to Live in America
!
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a
gin 7th
ri s
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i
David Savageau The w in tion
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The Classic Guide for Finding Your Best
Places to Live in America
7th Edition
David Savageau
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This 7th (and 25th anniversary) edition of Places Rated Almanac could not have begun without insightful
criticisms from hundreds of readers. Nor would the book have been fi nished minus the generous advice from
experts whom we’ve come to know personally over the years.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This book is a creative work protected by applicable copyright laws. The publisher has added value to facts and
statistics by original selection, coordination, expression, arrangement, and classifi cation of the information. It is
published for general reference and not as a substitute for independent verifi cation by users when circumstances
warrant. Care and diligence have been used in the preparation of this book. All data sources are explicitly cited.
The interpretation of these data and the views expressed are solely the publisher’s and not necessarily those of
the persons and organizations that have furnished them.
PLACES RATED BOOKS LLC
Box 77464
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Copyright © 2007 by Places Rated Books LLC
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.
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respective owners. Places Rated Books is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Digital Cartography
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Hillsboro, Wisconsin
Design & Layout
Brian Davis, Bombastic Graphics
www.bombasticgraphics.com
ISBN 0-9793199-0-0
ISSN 1526-517X
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Manufactured in the United States of America
Table of Contents
I ......................................................................................1
NTRODUCTION
Rating Places An: American Tradition .................................................................................................................2
SIDEBAR: Regions .............................................................................................................................................2
SIDEBAR: Population Size .................................................................................................................................3
Metropolitan Areas ...............................................................................................................................................4
The 379 Metropolitan Areas ................................................................................................................................5
MAP: The 379 Metropolitan Areas ......................................................................................................................7
D , D ........................................................................23
ECISIONS ECISIONS
Rating Places: One Way .....................................................................................................................................24
Rating Places: Your Way ....................................................................................................................................24
Your Preference Inventory .................................................................................................................................25
Preference Inventory Charts ..............................................................................................................................28
A ...........................................................................................33
MBIENCE
A Stab at Ambience ............................................................................................................................................33
People .................................................................................................................................................................35
SIDEBAR: Searching for Normal People ..........................................................................................................36
Judging: Ambience .............................................................................................................................................37
Scoring: Ambience .............................................................................................................................................37
Place Profi les: Ambience ...................................................................................................................................37
The David and Goliath Proposition .................................................................................................................100
iii
MAP: Ambience: Big Losers ...........................................................................................................................100
Art Museums and Galleries .............................................................................................................................101
MAP: Ambience: Small Winners .....................................................................................................................101
s
H ..........................................................................................103
OUSING
t
n
Life Stage Shelter Strategies ............................................................................................................................103
e
MAP: Where To Buy .......................................................................................................................................104
t
Major Housing Choices ...................................................................................................................................105
n
SIDEBAR: One Sign of a Bargain Rental Market ...........................................................................................105
o
Home Energy Requirements ............................................................................................................................106
C MAP: Where Not To Buy ................................................................................................................................107
Judging: Housing .............................................................................................................................................108

Scoring: Housing ............................................................................................................................................109
f
o Place Profi les: Housing ....................................................................................................................................109
A Geography of New Home Features ..............................................................................................................146
e A Renter’s Miscellany ......................................................................................................................................147
l Nuclear Hot Spots: A Nationwide Locator ......................................................................................................148
b
SIDEBAR: The Renter Majority......................................................................................................................148
a MAP: US Nuclear Power Plants ......................................................................................................................150
T
J .................................................................................................. 153
OBS
Where Will the New Work Be? ........................................................................................................................153
Blue-Collar Blues... ..........................................................................................................................................154
SIDEBAR: Seven Million Steps Forward... ....................................................................................................155
SIDEBAR: ...And a Million Steps Back ..........................................................................................................155
... And A White-Collar Chorus .........................................................................................................................156
Judging: Jobs ....................................................................................................................................................157
Scoring: Jobs ....................................................................................................................................................158
Place Profi les: Jobs ..........................................................................................................................................158
Life in a Boom Town .......................................................................................................................................185
Unemployment Checks ....................................................................................................................................185
Minimum Wages ..............................................................................................................................................185
Legal Holidays .................................................................................................................................................185
TABLE: Unemployment Benefi ts and Minimum Wage ..................................................................................186
An American List of Days ...............................................................................................................................187
MAP: Good Economy, Not So Good Climate .................................................................................................187
TheFortune 500 ..............................................................................................................................................189
SIDEBAR: Top Fortune Metros .....................................................................................................................191
C ............................................................................................... 197
RIME
MAP: Is It The Weather? .................................................................................................................................198
Crime Risk: Several Connections ....................................................................................................................198
GRAPHIC: The Crime Clock ..........................................................................................................................199
SIDEBAR: Hot and Cold Cars ........................................................................................................................200
Crime Indexes ..................................................................................................................................................200
iv
SIDEBAR: Neighborhood Crime Watches ......................................................................................................202
Caveats .............................................................................................................................................................203 H
Judging: Crime .................................................................................................................................................203 o
u
Scoring: Crime .................................................................................................................................................203
s
i
Place Profi les: Crime ........................................................................................................................................205 n
g
National and Regional Crime ...........................................................................................................................213
,

Drunk Driving ..................................................................................................................................................213 Jo
TABLE: State Restrictions on Buying and Carrying Handguns ......................................................................214 b
s
Handguns .........................................................................................................................................................214 ,

C
TABLE: Happy Hour Prohibitions ..................................................................................................................215
r
TABLE: Regional Crime Rates........................................................................................................................216 im
e
,

T
T .............................................................................. 217
RANSPORTATION r
a
n
s
The Sprawl and Crawl Life ..............................................................................................................................218 p
o
Public Transit ...................................................................................................................................................218
r
SIDEBAR: Light Rail: A Desire Named Streetcar ..........................................................................................219 t
a
SIDEBAR: Getting to Work and Back ............................................................................................................220 t
i
o
Interstate Highways .........................................................................................................................................220
n
Airports ............................................................................................................................................................220 ,
E
SIDEBAR: Decoding the Interstate .................................................................................................................221 d
u
Judging: Transportation ...................................................................................................................................222
c
Scoring: Transportation ....................................................................................................................................222 a
t
Place Profi les: Transportation ..........................................................................................................................222 io
SIDEBAR: Hubs and Hubs ..............................................................................................................................223 n

Ferryboats, Cable Cars, Monorails,Aerial Trams and Inclines ........................................................................266
Riding Amtrak’s Rails ......................................................................................................................................266
Our Contradictory Rules of the Road ..............................................................................................................267
MAP: Amtrak’s Surviving Routes ...................................................................................................................267
SIDEBAR: Trains to Planes: ............................................................................................................................268
Driver Licensing ..............................................................................................................................................269
TABLE: After You Move Deadlines ................................................................................................................270
SIDEBAR: The Interstate System: A Route Log and Finder List....................................................................271
Finding Your Way on the Interstate .................................................................................................................272
E .......................................................................................279
DUCATION
Public Schools ..................................................................................................................................................279
SIDEBAR: America’s 70 Largest School Districts..........................................................................................280
SIDEBAR: America’s 15 Largest Community Colleges .................................................................................282
SIDEBAR: America’s 15 Largest Public Universities .....................................................................................282
Private Schools .................................................................................................................................................282
The Public Library ...........................................................................................................................................283
SIDEBAR: America’s 15 Largest Colleges .....................................................................................................283
SIDEBAR: America’s 15 Largest Private Institutions .....................................................................................283
MAP: College Towns .......................................................................................................................................284
Colleges and Universities ................................................................................................................................284
Scoring: Education ...........................................................................................................................................285
Place Profi les: Education .................................................................................................................................286
v
Solving the SAT Puzzle ...................................................................................................................................359
TABLE: SAT Scores By State .........................................................................................................................359
Outstanding Secondary Schools, 1996–2006 ..................................................................................................360
Homeschooling ................................................................................................................................................369
TABLE: Requirements to Homeschool ...........................................................................................................369
s
t
n
H C ................................................................................... 371
EALTH ARE
e
t
What The Numbers Say ...................................................................................................................................371
n
SIDEBAR: Specialist Metro Areas ..................................................................................................................372
o
The Doctors ......................................................................................................................................................372
C MAP: Health Care Bargains ............................................................................................................................373
SIDEBAR: Hospital Services ..........................................................................................................................374

The Hospital .....................................................................................................................................................375
f
o Judging: Health Care ........................................................................................................................................376
Scoring: Health Care ........................................................................................................................................376
e Place Profi les: Health Care ..............................................................................................................................378
l Healthy Life/Longer Life .................................................................................................................................411
b
Finding the Right Doctor .................................................................................................................................411
a TABLE: Risky Business: How Healthy Is Your Lifestyle? .............................................................................412
T
SIDEBAR: Adult Exam Schedule ...................................................................................................................413
SIDEBAR: Paging Dr. Finder ..........................................................................................................................414
SIDEBAR: The Top Killers .............................................................................................................................414
Immunization ...................................................................................................................................................414
TABLE: Recommended Immunization Schedule ............................................................................................415
R ...................................................................................... 417
ECREATION
Common Denominators ...................................................................................................................................417
MAP: Fifteen Golf Hot Spots ..........................................................................................................................418
Crowd Pleasers .................................................................................................................................................419
MAP: Outdoors Assets: The West Rules .........................................................................................................421
Outdoor Recreation Assets ...............................................................................................................................421
Judging: Recreation .........................................................................................................................................422
Place Profi les: Recreation ................................................................................................................................423
Gambling ..........................................................................................................................................................479
TABLE: Legalized Gambling By State ...........................................................................................................479
Where Is The Best Skiing?...............................................................................................................................480
Major League Title Towns ...............................................................................................................................480
SIDEBAR: Baseball’s Odyssey .......................................................................................................................481
SIDEBAR: Hockey’s Odyssey ........................................................................................................................482
SIDEBAR: Basketball’s Odyssey ....................................................................................................................483
Professional Championships in the Metro Areas .............................................................................................484
SIDEBAR: Football’s Odyssey........................................................................................................................485
Collegiate Title Towns .....................................................................................................................................487
NCAA Division I Champions by Metro Area ..................................................................................................487
SIDEBAR: Timeline: NCAA FirstChampionships ..........................................................................................488
vi
C ............................................................................................495
LIMATE
The Difference Is Geophysical ........................................................................................................................496
Judging: Climate ..............................................................................................................................................497
SIDEBAR: Life at the Top ...............................................................................................................................497
SIDEBAR: Most Hazardous ............................................................................................................................498 H
SIDEBAR: Not for Depressives ......................................................................................................................498 e
a
Scoring Examples: Climate ..............................................................................................................................499 l
t
h
SIDEBAR: Great Summer Homes? .................................................................................................................499

C
SIDEBAR: Great Winter Homes .....................................................................................................................499
a
MAP: 344 Climate Divisions ...........................................................................................................................500 r
e
379 Place Thumbnails: Climate .......................................................................................................................500 ,

R
Climate Divisions.............................................................................................................................................519
e
A Century Forecast ..........................................................................................................................................564 c
r
Those Digital Bank Clocks Are Wrong ...........................................................................................................565 e
a
MAP: Relative Humidity Regions of the United States ..................................................................................566 t
i
Natural Hazards ...............................................................................................................................................567 o
n
MAP: Tornado and Hurricane Regions of the United States ...........................................................................568 ,

C
MAP: Earthquake Regions of the United States ..............................................................................................569
l
MAP: Weather Extremes of the United States and Canada .............................................................................566 im
North American Weather Extremes .................................................................................................................571 a
t
SIDEBAR: Going to Extremes ........................................................................................................................571 e
P I A T ............................................................... 575
UTTING T LL OGETHER
MAP: The Most Normal Metro Areas in America ...........................................................................................576
Finding the Best Places in America .................................................................................................................576
SIDEBAR: If You Read This Chapter First .....................................................................................................577
FindingYour Best Place to Live ......................................................................................................................577
A Big Pond or a Small One? ............................................................................................................................577
SIDEBAR: America’s Best 25 Small Metro Areas ..........................................................................................578
Scores: Putting It All Together .........................................................................................................................578
A A: M A B S ..................................587
PPENDIX ETROPOLITAN REAS Y TATE
A B: P ..............................................................................
PPENDIX EOPLE
Diversity ...........................................................................................................................................................591
Median Age ......................................................................................................................................................591
Wealth ..............................................................................................................................................................592
Education Attainment Index ............................................................................................................................592
A C: M A P F ............................601
PPENDIX ETROPOLITAN REA LACE INDER
I ...............................................................................................645
NDEX
vii

Preface
RR
eaders may wonder about differences in the fi nal rankings in Places Rated’s
previous (2000) edition and this one. There are fi ve reasons:
New scoring methods. Scores in each chapter are expressed in percents where 50 marks
the point where half of the areas are better and the other half worse. Using this scheme,
a score of 30 means seven out of ten metro areas do better. A score of 75 means three
out of four metro areas lag. In addition, the methods used to rate each area in Climate,
Crime, Transportation, Education, Ambiance, Health Care, and Recreation have been
fi ne tuned.
New scoring elements. The scoring has been further refi ned by new data elements. For
example, the number of international nonstop fl ights originating from the local airport
has been added to the Transportation chapter. For another example, the number of historic
districts and contributing buildings are added to the Ambiance scoring mix.
The interval effect. A minor change in just a handful of the 379 metro areas has resulted
in shifting ranks throughout. Some metro areas have nearly the same Crime fi gures as
they had in previous editions, yet their rankings in this category slipped. They aren’t
necessarily getting more dangerous; it’s just that other places are getting safer faster and
have moved them to a lower ranking.
Time series data. Local population fi gures (for deriving per capita access to public golf
courses, for example), prices (for measuring living costs), and household income have
increased at varying rates since the 2000 edition was published.
New geography. In June 2003, the federal government announced wholesale changes in
metropolitan area geography based on information from the 2000 Census. Not only were
ix