We live in an age of rankings with “best,” “worst,” and “in-between” lists touching every slice of life, industry, and geography.
Some of these dashboards are based on surveys. Others are data-driven and attempt to decipher government or business statistics. And some are just opinions – individual or consensus.
Yes, these rankings can spark discussions – whether for political debate or just for fun. Before the discussions get too intense, know that creating these notes is much more of an art than a statistical science.
I’m perplexed by the wave of state-versus-state rankings flooding into my inbox at work. Most of these dashboards are not created to advance societal conversations. Rather, they are promoted in hopes of generating online attention for a company that likely paid someone to create buzz about the “best/worst state.”
Not that these state notes themselves aren’t interesting. So I went through my inbox to find 20 rankings for California that might intrigue someone.
20 scorecards
No. 1 per capita spending on clothing and shoes, according to purchasing statistics tracked by QR Code Generator.
No. 2 The costliest housing gap — average salary of bachelor’s degree holders compared to median rent for a one-bedroom apartment — shows U.S. Census Bureau figures tracked by Sparefoot.com.
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No. 2 lowest percentage of its population as young homeowners, according to a review of census data for Agent Advice.
#3 the largest average business loans, according to an analysis of small business loans from 2020 to 2023 by CreditDonkey.
#3 The biggest three-year increase in diabetes diagnoses through 2021, according to an overview of government health statistics by Diabetes Strong.
#3 Most online searches per capita are looking for ways to become self-employed, according to research from QRFY.
#3 obsessed with cryptocurrency, according to CoinLedger which examined online search volume for cryptocurrency-related terms.
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#3 Most desirable work/life balance, according to Plus Docs’ rankings that track government job statistics.
Number 4 best place to start a business, according to a business applications study by Schmidt & Clark.
#5 better for overall well-being, according to a Gayfriendly ranking of 14 health factors.
#5 best place to study as a marketing specialist in college, according to a review of 18 different metrics by Ahrefs.
#5 best for women entrepreneurs, based on an overview of seven indicators from Lendio.
Number 6 worse in providing timely medical care, according to data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality studied for Parrish Law.
No. 8 The happiest families, measured by the marriage-to-divorce ratio, according to census analysis for Bedbible.
No. 8 the lowest share of the population reporting depression, according to Center for Disease Control statistics for MentalHealthRehabs.com.
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No. 8 Most searches per capita for online courses per person, according to a study by Freedom Bound Business.
No. 9 It’s the most likely place to be burglarized, according to state Suzuki Law crime classifications.
No. 14 The hardest part is getting a learner’s permit, according to notes done for Zanes Law.
No. 13 the risk of household mold is lowest, according to a review of climate models for FDP mold remediation.
No. 16 highest proportion of the population aged 25 or older with at least a bachelor’s degree, according to government degree data for Essayservice.com.
Conclusion
To be fair, let’s make a caveat: who would send a reporter a speech emphasizing “California ranks 25th” blah blah blah? Mid-pack rankings are boring. So my inbox is geared toward cases where California is an outlier – good or bad.
So any conclusion, if anything meaningful can be drawn from this rather haphazard collection of statistics, is that California is an expensive place with both good and troubling characteristics.
Did you need 20 dashboards to tell you that?
Jonathan Lansner is the Southern California News Group’s business columnist. He can be contacted at jlansner@scng.com
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