Bar density, commute time helps Lexington to rank in this top 10
Lexington ranks near the top nationally among cities with the best work-life balance, according to the SmartAsset personal finance website.
SmartAsset ranked cities on a formula that includes unemployment rate, entertainment establishment density, bar density, housing as a percent of income and average commute time.
Lexington also ranked sixth in the website’s 2018 ranking, published in December.
The survey includes the 100 largest cities across the country. The data surveyed includes the concentration of entertainment establishments, bars and restaurants; housing costs, home values, average hours and weeks worked; average commute times; percent with long commutes, unemployment rate and labor force participation rate.
The top 10 cities with the best work-life balance, according to Smart Asset, are Madison, Wis.; Lincoln, Neb.; Omaha, Neb.; Henderson, Nevada; Boise, Idaho; Lexington; Lubbock, Texas; Columbus, Ohio, Reno and Nashville.
In 2018, the list was still topped by Madison, Lincoln and Omaha, followed by Lubbock; Columbus; Lexington, Kentucky; Boise; Corpus Christi, Texas; Wichita, Kansas; and Winston, Salem, North Carolina.
SmartAsset said in a release accompanying its 2019 survey that Lexington residents “should have a lot of income left after paying for housing. The average full-time worker in Lexington only needs to dedicate 24 percent of their income to housing to afford the average home.”
Following that reasoning, SmartAsset says in its release that Lexingtonians can therefore “spend more money on fun activities. Luckily Lexington has no shortage of fun activities. According to our data Lexington has the 12th highest concentration of establishments dedicated to arts, entertainment or recreation.”
SmartAsset in October, 2018, named Martin County as the best place to own a home in Kentucky. However, U.S. News & World Report called Martin County the worst-performing white-majority county in the nation when considering links between race, geography and health outcomes.
Martin County has recently struggled with its water system in an effort to provide clean drinking water to residents.