Small City Survey Ranks WeHo High in Quality of Life, Low in Affordability

West Hollywood ranks near the top in a measurement of quality of life in small cities in the United States. However, it ranks near the bottom when it comes to affordability.

Those rankings are part of WalletHub’s 2017 calculation of the “Best Small Cities in America.” When data in five categories is combined, WeHo was one of 13 cities listed in the middle, with a rank 49 in a range from 99 (the best) to 1. To do the calculation, WalletHub used data from 1,272 cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000. West Hollywood is home to 36,698 people according to a 2016 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The quality of life ranking, which put West Hollywood 13th among 1,272 cities, is based on an evaluation of data such as commute time, share of the population that walks to work, number of local attractions, the number of restaurants and bars and clubs per capita, the number of fitness studios per capita, the number of coffee bars per capita and the number of cultural institutions such as movie theatres, museums and performing arts center. While West Hollywood has few of those cultural institutions, it is known for its large number of bars and restaurants.

West Hollywood came in at a low rank of 1,268 among the 1,272 cities surveyed when it came to affordability. WalletHub calculated affordability by dividing both median home price and median monthly rent by median household income to determine housing costs. Another factor was the homeownership rate, where West Hollywood was ranked 1,264 among the 1,272 cities surveyed.

With a ranking of 181, West Hollywood ranked in the top 14% among all cities surveyed in WalletHub’s measurement of “economic health.” That was calculated by using data about population growth, income growth, the unemployment rate, the share of the city’s population living below poverty and the relative amount of debt compared to earnings.

WeHo ranked 514 in the measurement of “education and health,” putting it in the top 40% of cities surveyed. That measurement included factors such as a ranking of school system quality, the premature death rate and the share of obese adults.

When it came to safety, West Hollywood was near the bottom with a rank of 1,000. WalletHub determined the safety ranking by using violent crime rates and property crime rates for each city.

In the ranking from 1 to 99, Beverly Hills was one of 13 cities ranked No. 76. It came in at 18 among 1,272 cities in quality of life and 1,241 in affordability. It ranked higher than West Hollywood in economic health (77), education (437) and safety (781). Other small nearby cities and their rankings are Culver City, with an overall rank of 64, putting it in the top third of all cities. It ranked 1,154 in affordability, 102 in economic health, 495 in education and health, 42 in quality of life and 983 in safety. South Pasadena had an overall rank of 34, putting it just below the bottom third of all cities. It ranked 1,240 among 1,272 cities in affordability, 416 in economic health, 476 in education and health, 868 in quality of life and 378 in safety.

And the best small cities in America? WalletHub lists them as Los Altos, Palo Alto and Saratoga, Calif.; Littleton, Col., Milton, Newton, Lexington and Melrose, Mass.; Carmel, Ind.; Leawood, Kans.; Holly Springs, N.C.; Princeton and Westfield, N.J.; Dublin, Ohio; Brentwood, Tenn.; Sammamish, Wash., and Brookfield, Wisc.

Data used to create the rankings was collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Areavibes, TransUnion, TripAdvisor, county health rankings, Yelp and other WalletHub research. WalletHub is a website that provides credit scores. It conducts regular surveys such as the “Best Small Cities in America” on a regular basis.