News websites like Times of San Diego get dozens of email pitches every week ranking cities and states by different measures. This week’s batch from publicists included rankings of rat infestations, ER wait times and, as widely reported, the nation’s most expensive cities.
The first thing we do with a ranking is check the methodology. If it doesn’t clearly indicate how the ranking was accomplished, we delete the email.
That was the case with the U.S. News & World Report ranking of San Diego as the most expensive city in the United States. The methodology was surprisingly vague.
“Metro areas in the rankings are evaluated using data from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. News’ own internal resources,” according to the U.S. News website. “This data was categorized into the four indexes listed below and evaluated using a methodology determined by Americans’ preferences.”
The four indexes were “quality of life,” “desirability,” “value” and “job market.” It’s not clear how the first two affect expense, and a figure used in the “job market” category was completely wrong. The unemployment rate for San Diego was listed as 10.3%, when in fact it’s 4.0%.
Then there’s the common-sense test of any ranking. Examining the U.S. News list, we found cities in California’s Central Valley ranked with some of the largest coastal cities. Stockton (#17) is supposedly more expensive than Washington, DC (#18), while Fresno (#19) and Modesto (#20) are ranked as more expensive than Portland, OR (#21).
It’s stretches credulity that a family in Stockton could save money by moving to the nation’s capital.
So we checked out other U.S. News rankings and found another surprising one. The “military power” ranking lists Russia as the country with the most powerful military. Maybe this was before Putin invaded Ukraine?
I’m sure many in San Diego, which has the largest cluster of military facilities in the world, are chuckling over this U.S. News ranking.
U.S. News & World Report has a well-deserved reputation for ranking universities, but that hasn’t necessarily transferred into other areas of life. Indeed, rankings like the ones for most expensive cities and military power may be nothing more than website clickbait.
There’s no question that San Diego is an expensive city. But I wouldn’t expect to move to New York (#11) and spend less and live better. And I don’t believe every ranking I see.
Chris Jennewein is editor & publisher of Times of San Diego.