Youngstown area climbs list of America's best cities

YOUNGSTOWN — It’s doubtful anyone in the Youngstown-Warren metropolitan area is going to get out a foam hand and brag that a new book ranks the region as the 269th best place to live out of 373 areas.

That would be quite a lot of fingers.

“Cities Ranked & Rated,” a recently released book by Wiley Publishing Inc., ranks areas based on numerous variables related to economy, cost of living, climate, education, health and health care, crime, transportation, leisure and arts and culture.

While being ranked 269th is hardly a reason to party, it is progress for the area that includes Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio and Mercer County in Pennsylvania.

The last “Cities Ranked & Rated” book in 2004 had the area in 291st place.

“We made it up in the ranks, so we must be doing something right,” said Jason Logero, born and reared in Campbell. “Anything positive for this area is a good thing.”

To compile the list, the book’s authors used data sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Climate Data Center, the Department of Education, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Claritas Inc., a private market data services provider.

Drawbacks

Despite offering praise for the area’s entertainment and recreation offerings, Pat Ungar of Boardman said, “It surprises me that [the ranking] is that high.” Ungar pointed to the crime rate and poor weather as the area’s two biggest drawbacks. He was born in Youngstown and moved back to this area a few years ago after living in South Carolina.

The Youngstown-Warren region’s best category is transportation, at 47th.

See the complete story Tuesday in The Vindicator and Vindy.com.