By Jeff Toquinto on May 20, 2019
Based on a recent study by a real estate Web site utilizing national data with a goal of helping people find cities to live in that best fits their needs, Bridgeport came out on top of one of the site’s most recent studies.
According to the Web site homesnacks.net, Bridgeport fare more than just well in analyzing the “richest cities” in West Virginia. In fact, Bridgeport came out as the top-ranked city in the Mountain State in a study that included 27 communities in West Virginia with a population exceeding 5,000 people.
The data that was utilized was based on analyzing Census data from the 2013-17 American Community Survey. The date showed Bridgeport has an amazingly high median household income based on a population of 8,382 of $82,359. To understand how high it was for the state, second-ranked Hurricane came in at $55,000.
“It’s always good to see Bridgeport ranked near the top of many of these Web sites that analyze positive things about cities,” said Community Development Director Andrea Kerr. “I think this is the result of having a residential base that’s highly educated that have quality, good-paying jobs where people turn them into careers.
“You can find just about every type of professional in this city,” Kerr continued. “You have small and large business owners, educators, doctors, attorneys, engineers and jobs running the gamut.”
Kerr said the city can utilize numbers such as these. She said it’s something that is a tool to attract more individuals to live in Bridgeport and also to operate a business here.
Bridgeport, which was ranked No. 1 last year in the same study, has an unemployment rate based on the study of 3.6 percent. It also has what is described as a “ridiculously low” poverty rate. The poverty rate is at 2.7 percent.
“I believe the poverty rate is a by-product of the income as opposed to something the city is doing, per say, to decrease the number and keep it low,” Kerr said.
No other cities from North Central West Virginia were ranked in the top 10.
“We see these ranking with us in the top five of a lot of them. How the numbers are compiled is likely something that can be debated, but to continue to see yourself here is a nice thing,” said Kerr.
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