| The second-best small city in the entire country is located in Massachusetts, according to a recent analysis from consumer financial advice website WalletHub.
If you’re an avid B&T reader you already know it, because we covered it last week, but in case you missed it, according to WalletHub’s proprietary analysis, Lexington is the second best small city in all of America. It was edged out of the top spot by Princeton, New Jersey.
Yeah, we’re not sure what’s up with that, either. First and foremost is that Lexington is not a city, it’s a town, classified as such by the state and by its citizens.
Per the release, WalletHub’s analysts “compared more than 1,200 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 33 key indicators of livability, ranging from housing costs to school-system quality to restaurants per capita.”
Lexington’s population in the 2010 Census was 31,400, so it fits WalletHub’s parameters. But if you ask anyone from Lexington if it’s a city or a town, they’ll look at you like you’re off your rocker.
As for the other 33 indicators of livability, Lexington definitely does have an outstanding school system. And its quaint (and vibrant) downtown teems with restaurants and shops.
Some are new; others have been there for generations, though none are as old as the town’s main claim to fame. (If we have to tell you it’s where the Battle of Lexington was fought, clearly you didn’t go to public school in Massachusetts.)
On the other hand, Lexington doesn’t have a commuter rail stop, isn’t particularly walkable unless you’re near the downtown, and has one of the highest median sale prices in the state. Year to date, the median sale price for a single-family home – which comprises the majority of the town’s housing stock – was a cool $1.116 million. It does, however, meet the state’s requirements for affordable housing; 11 percent of the housing stock is considered affordable.
Lexington is 10 miles from Boston as the crow flies – but most commuters aren’t taking their helicopters to the office. Thus there are two options: drive to Alewife and take the Red Line, or drive all the way into the city. Measuring from 9 Meriam St. in Lexington (home of the Lexington Minuteman) to Banker & Tradesman’s office in the Seaport, it’s 21.2 miles at the shortest distance. Google Maps estimates this will take about an hour at rush hour, which seems optimistic.
Despite what the past few paragraphs may lead you to believe, this editorial isn’t meant as an indictment of Lexington; it is meant to be an illumination of what happens when you let data speak unchecked. Lexington is lovely community and its residents are fortunate to live there, but calling it the second-best small city in America is a wild stretch. As Big Data grows ever bigger, it is important to remember that there is always more to the story than what the numbers say. Don’t let data become your god – and don’t blindly believe what it tells you.
