Most Caring Cities in USA

By Michael Broad / December 23, 2017 / 1 minute of reading

The study covers: 1) Caring for the Community, 2) Caring for the Vulnerable and 3) Caring in the Workforce. It was published on golocalpdx.com and used WalletHub data.

I’d expect animal welfare to be high in cities deemed most caring. Animal welfare must be one of the criteria for assessing caring as animals are automatically vulnerable in a human world. The second item above should encompass animal welfare. I have just noticed that: ‘Pet Shelters & Rescue Services per Capita’ and ‘Animal Protection Laws’ are indeed included.

Okay so Madison WI is the top city. Madison is the capital of Wisconsin. If you have the time you might like to figure out which state has the most cities in the top 100 most caring. It might also be nice to do some research on Madison in relation to its track record on animal welfare.

Overall Rank	City	Total	‘Community’ Rank	‘Vulnerable’ Rank	‘Workforce’ Rank
1	Madison, WI	68.13	10	6	1
2	Virginia Beach, VA	63.73	6	17	23
3	Lincoln, NE	63.59	29	7	12
4	Boston, MA	63.52	1	35	25
5	Jersey City, NJ	63.00	4	42	14
6	Pittsburgh, PA	61.53	16	37	6
7	Chesapeake, VA	61.48	20	18	16
8	Fremont, CA	61.42	13	4	56
9	St. Paul, MN	61.17	35	43	3
10	Seattle, WA	60.90	9	14	50
11	San Francisco, CA	60.86	51	2	49
12	San Diego, CA	60.28	11	3	78
13	Colorado Springs, CO	60.18	19	13	34
14	San Jose, CA	59.98	3	9	93
15	Chicago, IL	59.96	21	21	30
16	Portland, OR	59.69	41	12	31
17	Scottsdale, AZ	59.25	48	1	73
18	Plano, TX	58.90	5	20	76
19	Irvine, CA	58.79	8	8	91
20	Minneapolis, MN	58.78	67	38	4
21	New York, NY	58.67	2	88	26
22	Gilbert, AZ	58.64	17	5	77
23	Washington, DC	58.56	34	40	22
24	Denver, CO	58.51	54	10	33
25	Aurora, CO	58.37	31	32	28
26	Philadelphia, PA	58.37	12	86	5
27	Omaha, NE	57.76	50	22	36
28	Durham, NC	57.73	30	76	2
29	Chula Vista, CA	57.24	7	25	80
30	Newark, NJ	57.13	24	74	13
31	Boise, ID	57.07	22	31	47
32	Chandler, AZ	56.80	36	11	65
33	Anchorage, AK	56.35	87	27	11
34	Honolulu, HI	56.23	44	54	27
35	Columbus, OH	56.17	28	57	37
36	Charlotte, NC	56.14	26	56	41
37	Anaheim, CA	55.60	23	16	89
38	Norfolk, VA	55.32	39	77	15
39	Los Angeles, CA	55.23	32	29	68
40	Nashville, TN	54.83	52	44	48
41	Kansas City, MO	54.56	60	64	24
42	Milwaukee, WI	54.40	40	89	9
43	Lexington-Fayette, KY	54.10	70	60	19
44	Cincinnati, OH	53.97	38	70	46
45	Raleigh, NC	53.89	68	45	38
46	Oklahoma City, OK	53.75	79	34	32
47	Mesa, AZ	53.72	43	36	69
48	Reno, NV	53.47	62	24	71
49	Irving, TX	53.30	15	62	79
50	Indianapolis, IN	53.28	84	49	20
51	Tampa, FL	53.10	49	52	60
52	Louisville, KY	52.98	72	53	40
53	Garland, TX	52.91	14	72	83
54	Santa Ana, CA	52.81	33	41	90
55	Oakland, CA	52.81	61	33	66
56	Sacramento, CA	52.72	69	19	75
57	Cleveland, OH	52.56	58	91	10
58	Long Beach, CA	52.21	47	50	74
59	Fort Worth, TX	52.19	27	59	84
60	Arlington, TX	52.19	18	69	82
61	Austin, TX	51.98	75	30	59
62	Fort Wayne, IN	51.91	55	75	35
63	Baltimore, MD	51.88	56	93	18
64	Toledo, OH	51.68	83	80	7
65	Riverside, CA	51.30	42	23	100
66	Henderson, NV	51.22	25	48	94
67	Jacksonville, FL	51.01	78	39	54
68	Wichita, KS	50.91	92	28	51
69	Buffalo, NY	50.59	74	96	8
70	Atlanta, GA	50.49	64	63	62
71	Phoenix, AZ	50.12	73	46	72
72	St. Petersburg, FL	50.08	65	67	60
73	Greensboro, NC	49.68	81	66	45
74	St. Louis, MO	49.64	96	61	17
75	Dallas, TX	49.44	45	82	81
76	New Orleans, LA	49.24	57	95	43
77	Bakersfield, CA	49.04	77	15	98
78	San Antonio, TX	48.62	76	68	57
79	Las Vegas, NV	48.46	59	55	94
80	Orlando, FL	48.38	90	26	87
81	Tucson, AZ	48.35	95	51	53
82	Fresno, CA	48.00	37	78	88
83	Corpus Christi, TX	47.85	82	73	52
84	Glendale, AZ	47.69	80	65	70
85	Tulsa, OK	47.67	100	58	44
86	Houston, TX	47.47	63	79	92
87	Albuquerque, NM	47.39	97	87	21
88	El Paso, TX	47.11	46	84	85
89	Baton Rouge, LA	46.67	93	92	29
90	Memphis, TN	46.43	98	71	42
91	North Las Vegas, NV	46.36	53	81	94
92	Hialeah, FL	45.95	71	97	63
93	Lubbock, TX	45.22	99	83	39
94	Miami, FL	45.13	88	85	63
95	Stockton, CA	44.99	89	47	99
96	Winston-Salem, NC	43.84	94	90	55
97	Birmingham, AL	42.85	86	98	58
98	San Bernardino, CA	41.45	85	94	97
99	Detroit, MI	41.33	91	99	67
100	Laredo, TX	37.86	66	100	86

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5 thoughts on “Most Caring Cities in USA”

M.E. King
December 26, 2017 at 12:18 am
I am amazed that Albuquerque is as high up as it is.
Reply
AbbyandSadiesMom/USA
December 24, 2017 at 3:13 pm
Yay! Boston, MA came in at #4, but it’s the only city in Massachusetts listed. Boo! Our shelter is roughly 16 miles south of Boston in Quincy, MA (Home of two US Presidents): http://www.quincyanimalshelter.org – it’s a very small shelter but we do what we can. Hopefully, we’ll have a new, larger shelter in a couple years. The plans are wending its way through the process. Will be looking into #1 on this list to see their success story. Thank you for providing the list.
Reply
1. Michael Broad
  December 24, 2017 at 7:23 pm
  Nice to know that you live in a caring city. Do you feel like the city is caring? It would be nice to have first hand info 😉
  Reply
  1. AbbyandSadiesMom/USA
    December 25, 2017 at 1:24 am
    If you’re referring to Quincy, MA where our shelter is located, I’d give it a big fat YES! At one time, this building was the City Pound where the shelf life of any animal was 7-10 days if they were lucky; after that they were killed. (I refrain from using the word euthanize since that should not apply to terminating animals due to lack of space or funding.) A group of local citizens got together and put forth a proposal to the City of Quincy about changing the pound to a no-kill shelter that would be 100% volunteer. If I’m not mistaken, there were only about eight to ten people at the time. That was seventeen years ago. The ‘euthanasia’ room was transformed to ISO (isolation) for sick cats. Animal Control has an office in the small building and we all work together. At last count, we were something like 150 people strong in all facets of running the shelter: dog walkers and dog maintenance workers, cat workers who feed/clean cages and play with the cats, greeters who make first contact with the public to ascertain what they’re looking for, adoption reps (both cat and dog), management, board of directors, marketing people, TNR people, shelter secretary, medical people (not licensed vets but trained in cursory care qualified to give meds, etc.), IT people, shelter director and probably more people that I’ve forgotten. It’s very well-rounded. We have licensed vets who volunteer their time from their practice to do whatever surgeries may be needed above and beyond their respective practice. We’re very fortunate to live in a city that supports all we do and come to us for whatever they need, as well as generously give to keep us running since we’re non-profit.
    If you’re referring to Boston, I’d say they are also very caring. There are many large shelters, as well as large teaching and private animal hospitals and specialty practices who also provide full service to animals and also address low-cost services for those in need. Although there are still too many high-kill shelters around, the no-kill facilities are opening at a brisk rate.
    Lastly, all of the shelters here in Massachusetts (as well as the entire USA) have a communication setup whereas we can contact other rescues at any time if in need. Example: if we’ve got a large dog (Mastiff), we’re able to transfer the Mastiff as they are better equipped to successfully adopt out. If a shelter has too many kittens, they can transfer to our shelter as we have a very strong kitten adoption rate. It works out for everyone.
    Reply
    1. Michael Broad
      December 26, 2017 at 6:00 am
      Thanks for a great comment Gail. Much appreciated, really.
      Reply

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