Report: Providence metro ninth-worst for families

THE PROVIDENCE metropolitan area ranked among the worst metros for families, according to a study by Apartment List. / COURTESY APARTMENTLIST.COM
THE PROVIDENCE metropolitan area ranked among the worst metros for families, according to a study by Apartment List. / COURTESY APARTMENTLIST.COM

PROVIDENCE – The Providence metropolitan area ranked ninth worst for families among 30 metro areas in the country, according to Apartment List, an online rental marketplace.
Last month, Apartment List gave Providence a grade of D on its list of the “Best Cities for Young Families.”
To come up with its latest rankings, Apartment List said it looked at four factors: safety (the number of violent crimes and property crimes per 100,000 residents); housing cost (census data was used to calculate the percentage of the median renter income required to rent a two-bedroom apartment); school quality (based on high school graduation rate); and child friendliness (census data was used to score cities based on the percentage of the population under 18).
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, was ranked as the best metro area, with an overall score of 67.6 on a scale of 100, and high scores in categories of housing, 75.2, and education, 74.8.
The Providence metro, in comparison, had an overall score of 37, with low scores for child friendliness, 26.1; education, 27.4; and housing, 30.4. Apartment List said that within the Providence metro, Providence is the worst city, while Warwick is the best.

The Miami metro ranked worst on the list. The Boston metro also landed in the bottom 10, at seventh worst, but in that area, Newton was singled out as the best, and the city of Boston, the worst.
“On average, suburbs ranked more highly than core cities – they are safer, have better schools and are more affordable,” Apartment List said.

No posts to display