Cleveland Ranked 84th Best Place to Live by US News

CLEVELAND, OH - US News & World Report recently ranked Cleveland the 84th best city to live in (out of 100 cities). The Land was ranked behind other Ohio cities Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo; leaving one to wonder if the list ranker has ever actually been to any of those cities.

The number one city to live in, according to the report, is Austin, Texas. Which, OK. Yet somehow Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Baltimore, Maryland (the setting of notoriously depressing The Wire) rank above Cleveland.

The only town in Ohio that did worse than Cleveland on the list is Youngtown (87). To be fair, the list also ranked Wichita, Kansas (which is a fine city) higher than Fort Myers, Florida and Virginia Beach, Virginia (popular vacation destinations for people from Wichita, Kansas).

Cities were all ranked on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest possible score, a perfect city. Cleveland scored a 6.0 out of 10. The city did well in the value rankings (7.2) but got hammered in the desirability category (4.2).

By comparison, the top city in the report, Austin, Texas, scored a 7.8 ranking and the lowest city, San Juan, Puerto Rico, scored a 2.8.

To see the full US News & World Report Rankings click here

On the consolatory side, US News & World Report did say, "In recent years, Cleveland has been enjoying a renaissance, especially after its polluted Cuyahoga River famously caught fire in 1969. Today, this metro area on the banks of Lake Erie is experiencing growth and revitalization. With continued development, opportunities abound for construction workers and electricians, as well as for professionals in the medical and IT sectors."

It seems the national perception of Cleveland can never avoid bringing up that river burning incident. It's worth noting that the Cuyahoga caught fire nearly 50 years ago. Notably, pundits do not continuously dredge up New York City's dreary stretch of crime-ridden years in the 1970s, yet Cleveland cannot escape one laughingstock incident from 50 years ago. Since the river caught fire, Cleveland has been to two NBA Finals (winning one), hosted the Republican National Convention, been to the World Series three times, and revitalized its image locally. It's all part of that aforementioned renaissance.

Well, if this year's ranking seems low, then let's remember that fatalistic local motto, "There's always next year."

Photo from Rick Uldricks, Patch