If City Hall really wants to know what young families want they do not need to go on another road trip or waste anymore of the taxpayers money....they need to read this study....then ask the difficult questions....does Middletown offer these wants and needs?

Methodology

All data are from the 2013 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Our methodology focused on four factors:

1. Home affordability. Home affordability, 30% of the total score, was calculated by averaging index scores for median home value and median selected monthly owner costs. The lower the costs, the higher the score.
2. Growth and prosperity. Growth and prosperity are 20% of the total score. The two metrics involved were growth in family income from 1999 to 2013, and median family income in 2013. Both were weighted equally and positively.
3. Family friendliness. To measure if an area is a good place for families, which is 30% of our total score, we looked at the percentage of married couples with at least one child under age 18, and the percentage of families in poverty with at least one child under age 5. The percentage of families with at least one child was 70% of the score, while the percentage of families in poverty was 30% of the score.
4. Educational quality. Using data from GreatSchools, every place was assigned a ranking from 1 to 10 for the quality of schools. Education is 20% of the total score.

Thanks John
Sorry I forgot to add that one to my list when I posted....
Will post more later got to get the apple pie out of the oven...

Vivian Moon wrote: If City Hall really wants to know what young families want they do not need to go on another road trip or waste anymore of the taxpayers money....they need to read this study....then ask the difficult questions....does Middletown offer these wants and needs? <h3 style="-sizing: border-; font-family: Tisa, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb70, 70, 70; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 12px; font-size: 28px;"><span style="-sizing: border-;">Methodology</span></h3><p style="-sizing: border-; margin: 0px 0px 12px; color: rgb70, 70, 70; font-family: Tisa, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">All data are from the 2013 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Our methodology focused on four factors: <ol style="-sizing: border-; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 12px; color: rgb70, 70, 70; font-family: Tisa, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><li style="-sizing: border-;"><span style="-sizing: border-; font-weight: 700;">Home affordability.</span> Home affordability, 30% of the total score, was calculated by averaging index scores for median home value and median selected monthly owner costs. The lower the costs, the higher the score.<li style="-sizing: border-;"><span style="-sizing: border-; font-weight: 700;">Growth and prosperity.</span> Growth and prosperity are 20% of the total score. The two metrics involved were growth in family income from 1999 to 2013, and median family income in 2013. Both were weighted equally and positively.<li style="-sizing: border-;"><span style="-sizing: border-; font-weight: 700;">Family friendliness.</span> To measure if an area is a good place for families, which is 30% of our total score, we looked at the percentage of married couples with at least one child under age 18, and the percentage of families in poverty with at least one child under age 5. The percentage of families with at least one child was 70% of the score, while the percentage of families in poverty was 30% of the score.<li style="-sizing: border-;"><span style="-sizing: border-; font-weight: 700;">Educational quality.</span> Using data from GreatSchools, every place was assigned a ranking from 1 to 10 for the quality of schools. Education is 20% of the total score.

1. Home Affordability

Certainly. You can get a very nice home in Middletown for a lot less than places that are more desirable......and that's the problem isn't it. Desirability. Not a good sign when the home prices are low because no one wants to live here. 30% of the score.....no points here.

2. Growth and prosperity

Nope. Not in this town. No appreciable growth in the last three decades, unless you want to call ramping up the Section 8 population, increasing the crime and drug usage and attracting all the people other cities don't want to town. Declaring a poverty rate of 54% by the current city manager didn't help with publicity, image and a city to be ignored like the plague. Knocking down a good percentage of the city, not replacing the vacant land with new buildings and leaving the place looking like a bombed out war zone helped re-enforce the "dirty, ghetto, dregs of society" reputation we now have. 20% of the score...no real points for this either

3. Family friendliness

Families in poverty killed any chance of success in this category.70% and 30%.....might get some points for families with one kid but the 30% poverty criteria shot this down

4. Educational quality

Not in this school district. It is not until you leave high school that you have a glimpse of quality in education and that would be at MUM. Not so sure about CS as that school hasn't gotten off the ground as yet. 20% of the score......an absolute zero until you leave the public schools. Then the quality appears to happen without the influence of the school district woes.

JMO