BusinessWeek.com picks Scranton at top places to raise children

BusinessWeek.com picks Scranton at top places to raise children

BY DAVID FALCHEK (STAFF WRITER) 
Published: November 18, 2009

BusinessWeek.com has named Scranton among the top 50 places in the nation to raise kids in 2010, the only Pennsylvania community to make the list.

Cities on the list were not ranked, but included one community from each state. Erie and Allentown were identified as Pennsylvania runners-up.

BusinessWeek examined communities with at least 45,000 residents and a median income of between $40,000 and $125,000. The Web site took into consideration school performance, crime rates, air quality, job growth, museums, parks, diversity and other amenities.

Austin Burke, president of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, said area economic developers have long touted the overall quality of life in the city and that the report confirms it.

"This is a message we've been trying to get out there," he said. "What could be more important to quality of life than raising your children in a safe and healthy environment?"

Quality of life is often a key consideration for employers looking to move or establish operations in a community, Mr. Burke said.

Last month, BusinessWeek.com listed the metro area as one the nation's strongest economies, and earlier this year, the region was selected as one of the "best places to start over." Last year, the metro area was also ranked as having some of the nation's "most affordable housing."

The Web site's rankings include a photo gallery of winning cities with a paragraph of text and some statistics. The photo depicting Scranton shows a child blowing up a balloon in the foreground of a photo of the former Dickson Manufacturing Co. The caption mentions Scranton as the setting for the NBC TV sitcom, "The Office" and cites Scranton's low cost of living, ski slopes and colleges.

Kid-friendly communities selected in neighboring states included Edison, N.J., Tonawanda, N.Y., Gaithersburg, Md., and Lakewood, Ohio.

The list was compiled in conjunction with OnBoard Informatics, a New York-based analytical firm.

Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com

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