Providence Ranked 3rd Worst City in U.S. for People With Disabilities
Thursday, October 05, 2017
The City of Providence has the second highest percentage of people with disabilities living in Poverty, helping make it the third worst city in the U.S. for people with disabilities.
According to a recent study completed by WalletHub, Providence ranks 148 out of 150 ranked cities when it comes to best places for people with disabilities.
“According to the Social Security Administration, one in five Americans lives with a disability, and one in 10 has a severe disability. Managing poor health can be quite expensive, considering the high cost of U.S. health care. To add insult to injury, disability checks for most beneficiaries are insufficient for monthly living expenses — let alone disability-related costs. “At the beginning of 2015, Social Security paid an average monthly disability benefit of $1,165” according to the SSA. “That is barely enough to keep a beneficiary above the 2014 poverty level ($11,670 annually),” said WalletHub.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTProvidence’s Rankings
- 143rd Best - Economy
- 72nd Best - Quality of Life
- 132nd Best - Healthcare
- 149th - Highest % of Persons with Disabilities in Poverty
The Rankings
Providence ranks directly behind Brownsville, Texas and Winston-Salem, North Carolina who rank 146th and 147th respectively.
Providence ranks ahead of Greensboro, North Carolina and San Bernardino, California, who ranks last.
Overland Park, Kansas is ranked as the best city for people with disabilities.
See the Rankings in the Map Below
The Method
To determine the most livable places for people with disabilities, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 most populated cities across three key dimensions: 1) Economy, 2) Quality of Life and 3) Health Care.
They evaluated those dimensions using 28 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for people with disabilities.
Finally, they determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the cities in our sample. In determining our sample, we considered only the “city proper” in each case and excluded cities in the surrounding metro area.
Economy – Points: 33.33
- Housing Affordability: Full Weight (~3.03 Points)
- Cost of Living: Full Weight (~3.03 Points)
- Median Earnings for People with Disabilities: Double Weight (~6.06 Points)
- Employment Rate for People with Disabilities: Double Weight (~6.06 Points)
- Share of Persons with Disabilities Living Below Poverty Level: Double Weight (~6.06 Points)
- Share of Homeless People with Disabilities: Full Weight (~3.03 Points)
- Annual Cost of In-Home Services: Full Weight (~3.03 Points)
- Presence of CDC Funding for Disability & Health Programs: Half* Weight (~1.52 Points)
- Presence of Public-Housing Waiting List for Seniors/People with Disabilities: Half* Weight (~1.52 Points)
Quality of Life – Points: 33.33
- Share of People with Disabilities: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Special-Education Teachers per 1,000 School-Aged People with Disabilities: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Graduation Rate for Students with Disabilities: Half Weight (~2.08 Points)
- Wheelchair-Accessible Restaurants per Capita**: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Wheelchair-Accessible Grocery Stores per Capita**: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Wheelchair-Accessible Trails per Capita**: Half* Weight (~2.08 Points)
- Share of Population with Walkable Park Access: Half Weight (~2.08 Points)
- Walkability: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Effectiveness of State Medicaid Programs: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
- Share of Young Buildings: Half Weight (~2.08 Points)
Healthcare – Points: 33.33
- Cost of Doctor Visit: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Average Per-Person Health-Insurance Premium: Half* Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Family Doctors & General Practitioners per Capita: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- Occupational Therapists per Capita: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
- WalletHub “Doctors” Ranking: Half* Weight (~2.38 Points)
- WalletHub “Nurses” Ranking: Half* Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Hospitals per Capita: Half* Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Quality of Public Hospital System: Half* Weight (~2.38 Points)
- Share of Uninsured Population: Full Weight (~4.76 Points)
Related Slideshow: The Power List - Health and Education, 2016
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