24 overall;

As those living in the northern part of the Carolinas already know, the Raleigh region is one of the best places to live, work and raise a family — and now there is data to back that up.

According to WalletHub, a personal finance website founded in Washington, D.C,. in 2013, North Carolina’s state capital region is ranked No. 5 in the country in a recent survey.

Richie Bernardo, a personal finance writer at WalletHub, said the survey used four key areas to determine the ranking — affordability, economic well-being, education and healtgh, and quality of life.

“First, we compiled 35 relevant metrics (with) each metric was given a value between 0 (worst) and 100 (best),” he added. “We then calculated the overall score for each state capital using the weighted average across all metrics to obtain its State Capital Index and ranked the cities accordingly.”

Raleigh fared best in the affordability category, ranking No. 3 in the country. In the othjer four key areas, Raleigh was No. 5 in economic well-being; No. 19 in education and health; and No. 23 in quality of life — putting the Tar Heel capital in the upper half among all state capitals in the country.

The No. 1 sites for each of the four areas were: affordability was Springfield, Ill.; economic well-being was Austin, Texas; education and health was Madison, Wisc.; and quality of life was Olympia, Wash.

When all the calculating was completed, The Austin, Texas, area emerged as the best capital region to love, work and play. In addition to a top spot in the economic category, the Lone Star State’s capital region finished No. 5 in education and healh; No. 11 in affordability; and No. 18 in quality of life.

Following Austin in the nation’s Top 10 were: second, Lincoln, Neb.; third, Bismarck, N.D.; fourth, Madison, Wisc.; fifth, Raleigh; sixth, Boise, Idaho; seventh, Montpelier, Vt; eighth, Pierre, S.D.; ninth, Helena, Mont.; and 10th, Columbus, Ohio.

The bottom 10 capital areas in the survey were: 41st, Boston, Mass.; 42nd, Baton Rouge, La.; 43rd, Dover, Del.; 44th, Honolulu, Hawaii.; 45th, Trenton, N.J.; 46th, Providence, R.I.; 47th, Jackson, Miss.; 48th, Montgomery, Ala.; 49th, Carson City, Nev.; and 50th, Hartford, Conn.

Another positive side for Raleigh was the fact that it finished ranked No. 3 in the country for the percentage of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree, slightly behind Montpelier, Vt., and Madison, Wisc.

In tghe overall rankings, North Carolina’s neighbors finished in the following spots: Nashville, Tenn., was No. 15; Atlanta, Ga., was No. 16; Columbia, S.C., was No. 26; and Richmond, Va., is No. 33.

W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.

Courtesy photo North Carolina’s state capital region of Raleigh was ranked No. 5 in the country by a recent WalletHub survey.
http://www.bladenjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_61cover.jpgCourtesy photo North Carolina’s state capital region of Raleigh was ranked No. 5 in the country by a recent WalletHub survey.

W. Curt Vincent

cvincent@civitasmedia.com