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State fails to break into top 100 best places to live list
By Matthew French
Staff Writer
The Charleston area may be considered one of the most polite places in the country and may be one of the most visited areas in the nation, but it is not in the top 100 best places to live, according to a recent study conducted by Money magazine, CNN and data research company OnBoard.
The criteria for the list included median household income, job growth, education, proximity to a major airport, proximity to a teaching hospital and crime.
To pick the winners, staff at Money and CNN culled data on education, environment, housing affordability, taxes, commute times and the job market.
Twelve cities and towns from the Palmetto State were among the more than 1,300 contending cities, but the state was one of 14 to have no city make the list.
Two municipalities from the Lowcountry, Charleston and Mount Pleasant, were contending cities, as was Hilton Head Island, but all three failed to breach the top 100.
To narrow the search, the criteria mandated that the town must have a population greater than 14,000, an above-median household income and both population growth and real estate appreciation during the past five years.
Charleston was likely eliminated because the median household income, $39,952 per year, is only about 59% of the national average of $68,160. Mount Pleasant’s median income was closer at $64,525 but still fell about 5% short.
To view the entire list, go online to http://money.cnn.com/best/bplive/?cnn=yes >
Matthew French is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at mfrench@crbj.com.
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