ForbesWoman recently released a study identifying the “Best Cities for Working Mothers” in 2010. Hartford finished 7th out of the top 50 metropolitan regions in the country.
The magazine ranked each city based on six factors: Women’s Income, Living Cost, Pediatricians, Unemployment, Violent Crimes, and Spending per Pupil. Their idea was to try to capture a variety of issues that all play into mysterious phrases like “quality of life” and “work-life balance.” Some may debate the specific factors selected, as many comments on the article’s page do, but from our point of view this is an opportunity to celebrate Greater Hartford as a nice to place to live regardless of whether the criteria are exactly right.
In the final shakeout, Hartford scored very well with the 3rd highest income, 3rd highest spending per pupil, and 4th lowest violent crime rate. Holding us back were our high cost of living (40th lowest in their terms) and low number of pediatricians (42nd lowest). Our unemployment rate was ranked right in the middle at 24th lowest. The final rankings come from weighting the different categories. This year Forbes placed a greater emphasis on strong salaries and low crime, both of which are strengths of Hartford.
Congratulations to the towns, businesses, and citizens that make up Greater Hartford!
Beth says…
I would argue that few of the factors they took into consideration encompass what makes a working mother obtain that elusive optimal work-life balance. Things like:
1) flexible working hours and schedules; availability and acceptability of job sharing
2) commute patterns and traffic for both fathers and mothers so as to minimize travel time
3) community friendliness and supportiveness for things such as in-home daycares, alternative childcare arrangements, carpooling, etc
In my opinion those factors matter more than big-picture items like schools.