COMMUNITY Canfield among list of top 100 places to live

Six Ohio communities were finalists that made the top 100.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Canfield's high rank on a list of great places to live comes as no surprise to local officials.
Canfield is No. 82 on the annual list of the best places to live compiled by Money magazine and CNN/Money. The list's authors compared 1,300 towns to develop the rankings.
"We've got a little ways to go to get to No. 1, but we're working on it," said William Reese, chairman of the Canfield Township trustees.
The list considered low crime rates, pollution and auto insurance rates, leisure activities, cultural options, affordable housing, commute time and access to quality health care.
"We have an excellent low cost of living and [low cost] of housing here," Reese said.
According to Money and CNN calculations, the average price of a home in Canfield is $144,028, compared with the $316,665 average in communities that made the list.
Mayor Lee Frey pointed to quality schools, low cost of living and low crime as things that help the community stand out.
"I think Canfield is an outstanding place to live, but I think the whole Mahoning Valley is a good place to live," he said.
Reese also believes the community's "friendly people" add to the appeal.
National comparison
The list's authors found that personal and property crime risks were well below the best places average, but the air pollution index is slightly higher than the national average.
"We have very little alcohol or domestic violence-related crime here," Reese said. "Most of our crime is just people passing through."
Reese also believes location is key.
"We're halfway between New York and Chicago and halfway between our suburb of Pittsburgh to the south and the suburb of Cleveland to our north," he joked.
For purposes of the study, the township and city were lumped together.
Canfield was one of six Ohio communities to be ranked in the top 100. It was the lowest ranked among them. Hudson, Powell, Solon, Uniontown and West Chester complete the towns in the Buckeye State that were finalists.
Powell, a suburb of Columbus, ranked highest among Ohio towns at No. 18. No Ohio cities made the top 10.