Good for veterans, bad for cheese-lovers? Fayetteville landed on these lists in 2023.
With three local colleges and universities and its proximity to Fort Liberty, Fayetteville has landed on several lists in 2023 as a top city in the nation or state.
Sometimes it’s good to be known as top in the region, state or nation for certain categories. Other times it’s a measure for what can be improved.
Here’s a look back at some of the most interesting lists Fayetteville has landed on this year.
The good
• Apartment List named Fayetteville as the No. 1 city in the nation for people to live after military service.
Nearby Fort Liberty, which is the home to the Army’s airborne and special operations forces, is the most populated military installation in the nation. According to the U.S. Census, more than 724,000 veterans call North Carolina home.
In its analysis, Apartment List reviewed veteran population, median income, poverty rates and unemployment rates.
• Meanwhile, Fayetteville Technical Community College announced in August that it was named on a list of the top 10 military-friendly schools for large community colleges, according to Viqtory’s annual survey.
Viqtory, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business, evaluated schools in six different categories including military student support and retention.
• Viqtory also ranked FTCC as No. 5 on its national list for Military-Spouse Friendly Schools.
• In May, personal finance website WalletHub named Fayetteville as 8th out of 99 mid-sized cities for being the most affordable for home buyers. Fayetteville also ranked No. 10 overall out of 300 cities in the nation for having affordable homes.
WalletHub evaluated the costs of homes, their maintenance, tax rates and vacancy rates among its metrics.
• Out of 149 mid-sized cities, WalletHub ranked Fayetteville No. 8 for diversity based on socioeconomic, cultural, economic, household and religious diversity.
The not-so-bad
• While WalletHub named Fayetteville as No. 2 in the nation to get married in 2021, it’s since fallen to No. 48 out of 182 cities reviewed based on 26 indicators including average wedding cost, venues and event spaces per capita and hotel availability.
• WalletHub ranked Fayetteville at No. 70 out of 182 cities for singles based on economics, fun and recreation and dating opportunities.
The ugly
• Fayetteville ranked 198 out of 200 cities or was deemed the third worst, by lawn care site Lawn Love for having a hangover cure. Lawn Love analyzed cities based on hangover food and drinks, getting home and sleeping in public among other factors.
• Cheese lovers may not like Fayetteville, according to Lawn Starter, which ranked Fayetteville No. 191 out of 200 cities, or the 10th worst for cheese lovers based on cheese access, quality, affordability and community interest.
• Fayetteville ranked as the third worst city for having a kid-friendly vacation, with Lawn Love analyzing 200 cities based on transportation options, affordability, and safety among 43 metrics.
• Fayetteville is stressed, according WalletHub, which ranked Fayetteville No. 8 out of 182 cities for having the most stress, with factors like unemployment, divorce and suicide rates analyzed.
• WalletHub ranked Fayetteville 175 out of 182 cities, or the 8th least healthiest based on medical visits, fruit and vegetable consumption and the percentage of fully vaccinated residents among factors.
• Other categories that Fayetteville ranked low on for Wallet Hub included being a needy city, being among the worst cities for a job, happiness and raising a family and money management and one of the worst for women, Hispanic entrepreneurs and people with disabilities.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville makes these best and worst lists for 2023
