The Rating Game

Americans love lists. So it is no surprise that Rand McNally got a lot of attention last week with the publication of the second edition of its Places Rated Almanac, which bills itself as a guide to finding the best places to live in America.

It is not surprising, either, that partisans of Pittsburgh, Pa., gloated some over their first-place rating (up from No. 4) and that residents of the Yuba City-Marysville, Calif., region were indignant over being ranked dead last--No. 329 among 329 metropolitan areas (not ranked in the first edition).

There is nothing wrong with a little spirited competition in the field of civic pride. It is a fine American tradition. But before anyone gets carried away with the meaning of the listings, it is well to take a look at how Pittsburgh got to be first and Yuba City 329th--or how Atlantic City and Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, N.J., tied for the midpoint.

There is a bias in favor of larger metropolitan areas because of an emphasis on health-care facilities, transportation, the arts, recreation and education--all likely to be concentrated in the cities. Thus Eugene, Ore., Santa Barbara, Calif., and Colorado Springs, Colo., were ranked Nos. 86, 97 and 151, even though other surveys have counted them among the most congenial midsize cities in the country. California is penalized because of high housing costs, but this is balanced in part by weather. In the separate climate rating, all of the Top 10 fairest-weather cities are in California.

Grand Forks, N.D., was worst in weather but tied with Daytona Beach, Fla., at 136th overall. The trick to scoring well was not to do too poorly in any category and to average out well. Oklahoma City was No. 46.

A Yuba City administrator noted that his region scored so badly because it doesn’t have a four-year college, an arts center, a pro sports team, an interstate highway or public transit. That sounds just fine to some people we know.

The real winner, of course, is Rand McNally, at $14.95 a copy (up from $11.95).