Being stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic means fewer vacations, strangers delivering meals and groceries, and a greater reliance on Wi-Fi for all those work-from-home video calls or job interviews.
The majority of us aren’t fortunate enough to be “stuck” at a beach bungalow. So, if you’re truly staying safe at home here in the USA, where’s the best place to be?
LawnStarter crunched the data and statistics for the 150 most populated U.S. cities and compared them using 29 metrics, ranging from property crime rate and pedestrian fatalities to suicide rate and food insecurity. We also considered data associated with being stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
And the winner is… The safest, best U.S. city to be stuck at home is Frisco, Texas.
This fast-growing suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth tops our ranking of America’s Best Cities to Be Stuck at Home, thanks largely to its extremely high marks for quality of life and financial security.
While Frisco grabbed the No. 1 spot, two of its Dallas-Fort Worth neighbors — McKinney at No. 3 and Plano at No. 8 — also finished in the top 10.
Four California cities also landed on our top 10 list.
As far as the worst city for being stuck at home? Detroit. More on that in just a moment.
America’s 10 Best Cities to Be Stuck at Home
With Frisco in the No. 1 position, here are the 10 best cities to be stuck at home, followed by their overall scores (with 100 being the highest possible score).
1. Frisco, Texas (79.491)
2. Elk Grove, California (79.489)
3. McKinney, Texas (77.076)
4. Overland Park, Kansas (73.444)
5. Fremont, California (71.984)
6. Des Moines, Iowa (70.625)
7. Santa Clarita, California (70.266)
8. Plano, Texas (70.160)
9. Virginia Beach, Virginia (69.893)
10. Irvine, California (68.564)
Why Frisco gets high marks
Frisco is quickly becoming the country’s worst-kept secret. It’s the fastest-growing large U.S. city from 2010 to 2019. You can credit Money.com, which ranked Frisco the best place to live in the U.S. In 2019. SmartAsset.com also gets credit for declaring Frisco the second safest city in the country.
“We’ve created a product that is appealing to the market,” Tony Felker, president, and CEO of the Frisco Chamber of Commerce said May 2020. “We’ve created a culture and environment that is good for families, it’s good for business, [and] it’s good for safety and community.”
America’s 10 Worst Cities to Be Stuck at Home
Led by Detroit, here are the 10 worst cities to be stuck at home, followed by their overall scores (with 100 being the highest possible score).
1. Detroit, Michigan (36.234)
2. Memphis, Tennessee (40.856)
3. New Orleans, Louisiana (41.132)
4. St. Louis, Missouri (41.181)
5. Shreveport, Louisiana (41.236)
6. Mobile, Alabama (43.630)
7. Cleveland, Ohio (44.036)
8. Birmingham, Alabama (45.072)
9. San Bernardino, California (45.581)
10. Albuquerque, New Mexico (46.074)
Why Detroit gets low marks
Detroit gets little love in livability rankings. Niche.com puts it at No. 207 among the 228 best U.S. cities for young professionals, while U.S. News & World Report ranks it as the 92nd best place to live in the country. Detroit sits at the bottom of data website Numbeo’s latest quality-of-life index for North American cities.
However, as the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. points out, the Motor City boasts some of the most affordable housing in the U.S.
“It’s time to erase the preconceptions you may have about working, living, and playing in Detroit. Buoyed with enthusiasm, Detroit is ascending to its rightful place on the world stage,” the economic development group says.
Still, our study shows there’s little reason to be enthusiastic about Detroit as a place to be stuck at home. The city receives a rock-bottom score in the health and wellness category. It also picks up a low score in the community security and financial security columns.
SEE FULL CHART: https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-worst-us-cities-stuck-at-home/
How We Ranked the Best and Worst Cities to be Stuck at Home
To find the best and worst places to be stuck at home, we considered the 150 most populated U.S. cities and compared them using 29 safety-oriented metrics, grouped into five categories with the following scores:
Community safety (37)
Health and wellness (32)
Natural hazards (15)
Financial safety (12)
Digital security (4)
With 100 being the highest possible score, we used 29 metrics to score each city.
1. Community Safety (Total Points: 37)
Violent crime rate (murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault): 5 points
Property crime rate (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson): 5 points
Sex offenders per 100,000 residents: 5 points
Hate crimes per 100,000 residents: 5 points
Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents: 5 points
Unintentional shootings per 100,000 residents: 5 points
Drug overdose deaths per 100,000 residents: 5 points
Occurrence of protests and rallies following George Floyd’s death: 2 points
2. Health and Wellness (Total Points: 32)
Stroke among adults: 3 points
Asthma among adults: 3 points
Suicide rate: 3 points
Life expectancy: 3 points
Frequent mental distress: 3 points
Average number of poor mental health days per month: 3 points
Mental health providers per 100,000 residents: 3 points
Primary care providers per 100,000 residents: 3 points
Number of hospital beds per 100,000 residents: 4 points
Number of ICU beds per 100,000 residents: 4 points
3. Natural Hazards (Total Points: 15)
Air quality: 3 points
Drinking water violations: 3 points
Severe housing problems: 3 points
Percentage of homes built before 1960: 3 points
Natural hazard index: 3 points
4. Financial Safety (Total Points: 12)
Share of the population without health insurance: 3 points
Median household income: 3 points
Percentage of population living below poverty level: 3 points
Food insecurity: 3 points
5. Digital Security (Total Points: 4)
Identity theft complaints per 100,000 residents: 2 points
Fraud and other reports per 100,000 residents: 2 points
How to Make the Most of Wherever You are Stuck at Home
While no one would pack up and move to a place like Frisco simply to improve their stuck-at-home situation, you can make adjustments to take care of yourself wherever you live.
Find ways to worry less
In a July 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 53% of American adults indicated pandemic-related worry or stress had harmed their mental health. That figure is up from 39% in May 2020.
“The problem with this pandemic is that it’s sort of a rolling point of impact, and we’re not sure when it’s going to end, ”clinical psychology professor Mary McNaughton-Cassill, at the University of Texas at San Antonio, told NPR.
Gardening as therapy
Since we’re all about the outdoors here at LawnStarter, we recommend gardening as one method of relieving pandemic stress. GardenGate magazine touts the benefits of gardening.
Improves your mental health.
Boosts your immune system.
Offers a way to get exercise.
Contributes to healthier eating.
“Whether it’s a few plants in the windowsill, containers on a deck, beds and borders in the yard or a vegetable plot, gardens big and small can reap big benefits for you and your family,” GardenGate says.
Whether you’re stuck at home in Frisco or any other city, gardening can sow the seeds of peace and tranquility.
Data sources used in this study
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI, city-data.com, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, gunviolencearchive.org, County Health Rankings, National Center for Health Statistics, usatoday.com, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, American Medical Association, U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, Kaiser Health News, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, governing.com, National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, Feeding America, Federal Trade Commission
Written by John Egan on August 11, 2020 in Studies
