Bostonians won’t outrightly show affection and empathy for others, but deep, deep down we have a soft and fuzzy core. WalletHub, a leading personal finance network, analyzed 100 major cities across America. They studied 38 key indicators that would identify a city as “caring” and scores across each category were tallied to rank the top cities.
Boston ranked as the “third-most caring city in America.”
Examples of the 38 metrics studied are:
- Enviornmental care
- Food and clothing distribution to the needy
- Charitable income
- Online donations per capita
- Adoption rate
- Civic engagement
- Share of sheltered homeless
- Pet shelters and rescue services
Being a caring city requires a partnership between the city’s government and its residents. The government can implement high-level measures like sheltering the homeless, reducing crime and protecting workers. Residents show that they care for their neighbors by donating time and money, being environmentally friendly and taking jobs that help others. notes WalletHub Analyst, Cassandra Hope.
The most caring cities in America
Once all of the 38 markers are analyzed, each city earned a final weighted score. The top contenders might surprise you!
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Boston, MA
- Gilbert, AZ
- Chesapeake, VA
- Fremont, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Madison, WI
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Plano, TX
Boston is the third-most caring city in America, as it turns out Bostonians have hearts of gold hiding behind their reputation for rudeness. Boston residents donate more money online per capita than anyone else in the U.S.
Boston also cares for the environment, something that dates back to at least 1634 when the city established America’s oldest public park. That environmentally conscious behavior continues into the modern age, as Boston ranks as the third-most energy-efficient city in the country.
In addition, the City of Champions ranks as the second-best city when it comes to both sheltering the homeless and keeping its population insured. This shows that the city cares for the physical wellbeing of its residents.
On top of all that, Boston has a very high share of residents who work in caring professions, such as social work, teaching, firefighting, and medicine.
Notably, Boston is America’s only Northeast city to rank in the top 10.