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Lexington, Louisville ranked high among ‘Most Caring Cities in America’

Lexington ranked 19th, Louisville 31st

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 28, 2016) — WalletHub, a personal finance website, has ranked Lexington-Fayette 19th and Louisville 31st on its 2016 list of Most Caring Cities.

Screen Shot 2016-12-28 at 2.42.29 PMWalletHub compared the nation’s 100 largest cities based on 32 keys from three categories: Caring for the Community; Caring for the Vulnerable; and Caring in the Workforce.

Lexington, which ranked No. 1 for highest percent of sheltered homeless persons, had a total score of 56.34, ranking 34th for Caring for the Community, 28th for Caring for the Vulnerable and 25th for Caring in the Workforce.

Louisville had a total score of 53.21, ranking 59th for Caring for the Community, 18th for Caring for the Vulnerable and 48th for Caring in the Workforce.’

Madison, Wisc. was No. 1 with a score of 66.53.

Methodology:

Caring for the Community – Total Points: 40

  • Violent Crime Rate: full weight (~2.67 Points)
  • Property Crime Rate: full weight (~2.67 Points)
  • Alcohol-Impaired Fatalities per Capita: full weight (~2.67 Points)
  • Total Driving Fatalities per Capita: full weight (~2.67 Points)
  • Care for the Environment: full weight (~2.67 Points) (Note: The percentage of workers who carpool was used for this metric.)
  • WalletHub “Energy Efficiency” Ranking: half weight (~1.33 Points)
  • Social Ties: full weight (~2.67 Points)
  • Civic Engagement: half weight (~1.33 Points) (Note: The percentage of citizens who voted in the 2014 elections was used for this metric.)
  • Favors for Neighbors: triple weight (~8.00 Points) (Note: This metric measures the percentage of residents who do favors for their neighbors daily or multiple times per week.)
  • Food & Clothing Distribution to the Needy: full weight (~2.67 Points) (Note: This metric measures the percentage of residents who collect or distribute food or clothing for the needy.)
  • Percentage of Income Donated to Charity: full weight (~2.67 Points)
  • Online Giving per Capita: full weight (~2.67 Points)
  • Volunteering Hours per Capita: double weight (~5.33 Points)

Caring for the Vulnerable – Total Points: 40

  • Child Poverty Rate: double weight (~7.62 Points)
  • Adult Poverty Rate: double weight (~7.62 Points)
  • Adoption Rate: half weight (~1.90 Points) (Note: This metric measures the number of children adopted through public agencies per adult population.)
  • Percentage of Sheltered Homeless Persons: double weight (~7.62 Points)
  • Rehabilitation Centers per Capita: full weight (~3.81 Points)
  • Pet Shelters & Rescue Services per Capita: full weight (~3.81 Points)
  • Disability-Friendliness of Employers: full weight (~3.81 Points) (Note: This metric measures the percentage of people with disabilities who are employed.)
  • Uninsured Rate: full weight (~3.81 Points)

Caring in the Workforce – Total Points: 20

  • Residents Who Work in Community & Social Services per Capita: double weight (~3.33 Points)
  • Physicians per Capita: full weight (~1.67 Points)
  • Nurses per Capita: full weight (~1.67 Points)
  • Special-Education Teachers per School Age Disabled People: full weight (~1.67 Points)
  • Teachers’ Care for Student Well-Being: full weight (~1.67 Points) (Note: Student-teacher ratio was used for this metric.)
  • Counselors’ Care for Student Well-Being: full weight (~1.67 Points) (Note: Student-counselor ratio was used for this metric.)
  • Full-Time Law-Enforcement Employees per Capita: full weight (~1.67 Points)
  • Mental-Health Counselors & Therapists per Capita: full weight (~1.67 Points)
  • Personal-Care Aides per Capita: full weight (~1.67 Points)
  • Firefighters per Capita: full weight (~1.67 Points)
  • Paramedics per Capita: full weight (~1.67 Points)