Sorry, Akron, you just don’t rate.
U.S. News & World Report released its inaugural list Wednesday of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States, and Akron is nowhere to be found.
We know what you’re thinking. But the Rubber City wasn’t snubbed because it’s a terrible community.
It was snubbed for a much different reason.
U.S. News & World Report — producers of such publications as Best Colleges, Best High Schools and Best Hospitals — says it ranked the 100 biggest metropolitan areas in the country.
Considering Akron is the 77th largest metro area, it would make sense that the Rubber City would be on the list.
But researchers opted to lump Akron and Cleveland together, U.S. News & World Report spokeswoman Enxhi Myslymi said.
Maybe it’s because we share LeBron James. Or share a television market. Or share the Cuyahoga River.
Whatever the reason, the newly formed Cleve-kron, or maybe it’s Ak-land, comes in at a disappointing 87th.
Cincinnati (37th), Columbus (50th), Dayton (69th), Toledo (75th) and Youngstown (77th) all placed ahead of Cleve-kron.
That raises all sorts of questions. Did Cleveland drag down Akron? Or maybe Akron raised up Cleveland?
Informed that some in Akron may see this melding as a slap in the face, Myslymi followed up with an email:
“I wanted to also let you know that as we expand our ranking in the coming years, we do plan on expanding and covering places within our grouping, such as Akron, Ohio,” she wrote.
U.S. News & World Report ranked the communities based on affordability, job prospects and quality of life using a public survey; data from the U.S. Census Bureau, FBI and Bureau of Labor Statistics; and its own research.
Combining the Cleveland and Akron metro markets didn’t bother Akron Planning Director Jason Segedy, although he admitted that he would much rather have the ranking identified as Cleveland-Akron or Cleveland/Akron as opposed to Akron not existing at all on the list.
“In some respects, it may make sense to have us included with Cleveland,” he said.
As for the Best Place among the Best Places, Denver came out on top.
It was followed by Austin, Texas; Fayetteville, Ark.; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and Colorado Springs, Colo.
Bringing up the rear was San Juan, Puerto Rico.
To see the full rankings, go to: http://realestate.usnews.com/places.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.
