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Robert F. Sanchez
How does Tallahassee rank as a college town? Wallet Hub, a financial advice website, provides the answer, but local boosters won’t be satisfied. After all, no one runs around yelling “Woohoo!” We are number 42! ”
Worse, from Tallahassee’s perspective, Wallet Hub ranked four other Florida cities in the top 10. They were (3) Orlando, (4) Gainesville, (5) Tampa, and (9) Miami.
Florida was the only state with multiple listings in the top 10. Wallet Hub’s report, “America’s Best College Towns & Cities 2023,” included all 415 municipalities with colleges within their borders. Tallahassee therefore ranks 42nd On the 415 list, it’s pretty much in the top ten, if that’s comfort.
On the other hand, the term “college town” was coined by Chapel Hill (41st) or Gainesville (i.e. where all they do is school). Wallet Hub’s listings largely ignore such characteristics, relying instead on other factors.
Wallet Hub Financial Writer Adam McCann explained the rationale for the ranking, stating, “We took into account 32 key indicators of student academic, social, and economic opportunity. Our dataset is , from cost of living to quality of higher education to crime rates.
To provide objectivity to the survey results, Wallet Hub assigns points to each of three categories (Most Affordable, Social Environment, Academic and Economic Opportunities), aggregates the points, and bases them on their totals. ranked the cities. Tallahassee scored 53.93.
Who are the top schools in Wallet Hub’s system? Austin, Texas with 63.27, Ann Arbor, Michigan with 61.48, followed by the aforementioned Orlando with 61.42, Gainesville with 60.89, Tampa with 59.65 and Number 9 Miami with 57.71.
Now for some context. First, know that one of Wallet Hub’s primary offerings is clickbait. These are online posts that entice web surfers to click on certain links, thereby increasing their readership.
Wallet Hub produces more baits each year than the Sopchoppy Worm Gruntin’ Festival has produced in its entire history, and nothing attracts more clicks than a list that claims to rank things.
That’s why Wallet Hub’s website, titled “Best Places of 2022,” lists 22 different cities and states that rank them in various categories, from happiest cities in America to the best states to retire from. You can click the list.
Rankings are for the curious to see how your city, state, or insurance company fared on Wallet Hub’s latest list, or how you or your alma mater did in US News & World Report’s latest report. Naturally you want to know if you were ranked as
In Wallet Hub’s ranking of college towns and cities, Tallahassee definitely suffered from high housing costs. The issue is well documented in the Tallahassee Democratic series on homelessness. For college students, housing and other living expenses often exceed tuition.
Tallahassee’s crime rate, as this is written, included 106 shootings with 18 dead and 90 wounded to no avail. There are no universities near the many 32304 zip codes.
Finally, employment opportunities in the private sector after graduation are not always abundant in this field. Tallahassee’s non-governmental economy is growing, but there isn’t much reason to stay with the local college graduates. Especially when compared. In places like Orlando, Miami, and Atlanta.
Bottom line: Tallahassee needs to improve on all fronts. Hopefully before the US News & World Report college rankings start taking into account the rankings just posted by Wallet Hub.
Robert F. Sanchez is a former journalist based in Tallahassee.
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