[Vision2020] Worst Cities to Live in Every State

[Kenneth Marcy]

 Your point about data skewing is well taken, and is probably worse than you may be imagining.  Here I am referring to the long-term time shifting of inputs and outputs of economic expenditures and benefits received with respect to the cash and indebtedness outlays concentrated in collegiate communities versus the rewards earned and benefits received, usually in geographically remote locations from the expenditures, in time frames relatively far removed from one another.  In other words, it is not as if the economics of education take place in geographically compact areas within cohesively operating local economies over the lifetimes of the producers and beneficiaries.  Not only is there more physical and chronological separation of the economic activities, but there is much less interaction among the direct participants of those expending and those benefiting.

Ken

    On Friday, May 10, 2019, 10:05:38 AM PDT, Ron Force <ronforce at gmail.com> wrote:  
 
 The data is undoubtedly skewed by the 19,000 students at BYU-Idaho and their low incomes. The growth of enrollment has probably impacted the local housing market. By the way, the poverty rate for Moscow is 29.9% and Pullman, 37.5%.
Ron Force
Moscow Idaho USA

On Fri, May 10, 2019 at 9:36 AM Kenneth Marcy <kmmos1 at frontier.com> wrote:

Worst Cities to Live in Every State
https://tinyurl.com/y56xnssn 

Quality of life is subject to countless quantitative and qualitative factors — not the least of which is environment.
While living in an ideal city by no means assures personal contentment, conditions like crime, unemployment, and inordinately high living costs can detract from the quality of life in any city.
24/7 Wall St. created an index consisting of over two dozen measures to identify the worst cities to live in in every state. Our list includes cities, towns, villages, boroughs, and Census designated places. We did not include places with fewer than 8,000 residents in our analysis. Because no two states are exactly alike, the kinds of issues affecting the cities on this list vary considerably.
For many of these cities, the problems are serious and deeply entrenched. In 23 of the 50 cities on this list, the violent crime rate is higher than in at least 90% of all other American cities tracked by the FBI — and in another eight, violence is more common than in at least 75% of U.S. cities. The effects of violent crimes like robbery and aggravated assault can extend beyond their immediate victims, often pushing down property values and driving out business. Indeed, in many of these same cities, real estate values are depressed and unemployment is soaring. 

In a handful of cities on this list, the situation is less dire. In some less populous states like South Dakota and Wyoming, their worst cities are on this list largely due to their distance from the nearest hospital or a lack of local entertainment options like movie theaters, restaurants, nature parks, and museums. 




Source: Bret-Barton / Getty Images
Idaho: Rexburg
> Population: 27,369
> Median home value: $184,200 (state: $176,800)
> Poverty rate: 41.6% (state: 14.5%)
> Violent crimes per 100,000 people: 38 (state: 226)

Housing affordability is a major obstacle to quality of life for many in Rexburg, Idaho. The typical area home is worth about seven times as much as the median annual household income of just $26,341. Nationwide, the median home value is just 3.4 times higher than the median annual household income. Low incomes in Rexburg are highlighted by the city’s 41.6% poverty rate, which is higher than in more than 90% of all American cities.
The area’s low incomes are partially the product of a weak job market. The Census estimates that 6.8% of workers in Rexburg are unemployed, more than double the 3.3% unemployment rate across Idaho.

======
Though the Wall St. 24/7 article does not mention it, it remains true that some property tax relief could be made available to residents of Rexburg, and other Idaho cities, were more glowing properties such as the one illustrated here were allowed to be removed from the lists properties exempt from property taxes, and thus to pay their fair share of the community expense burdens.

Ken


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