Rankings are a dime a dozen, yet we still love them. We thrive on knowing what we’re the best at, what we suck at, and where we can improve in the coming year. From innovation to health, style to trick-or-treating, both the city of Boston and the state of Massachusetts snagged the top and bottom spots on several rankings lists in 2012.
In my mind, Boston is the best at just about everything, but according to the experts we may have a lot to learn. Here is a look back at the good, the bad and the ugly of Boston’s rankings in 2012. And cheers to being #1 in 2013!
The Good
#1 Smartest City in North America – Fast Company crowns Boston the smartest city in North America. How smart? Wicked smart.
#1 Best City for Recent College Grads – According to data from Forbes, Boston is a city in which recent college grads are the most likely to “find housing, work and an affordable lifestyle.”
#1 Best Hospital – Boston is a good place to get sick, as Massachusetts General Hospital was ranked the best hospital in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
#1 Best for Entrepreneurs – Every year, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln ranks U.S. states’ entrepreneurial climates, and this year, Massachusetts came out as the nation’s leading state for entrepreneurs.
#1 Best City for Walking – According to Prevention.com and WalkScore.com, both Boston and Cambridge are good cities to be on your feet. Boston was also named #1 Most Biked and Walked City by the Alliance for Walking & Biking.
#2 Best City for Technology Startups – The National Venture Capital Association named Boston a great city for tech startups, only beat out by San Francisco.
#2 Best for Trick-or-Treating – Real-estate website Zillow dubbed Boston the second best city in the nation for trick-or-treating. Which means it must also be a great city to be a cavity-fighting dentist.
#3 Best Public Transportation System –Hard to believe it, but Walk Score ranked the MBTA one of the best public transit systems in the nation. Guess they’ve never ridden it, eh?
#3 Best State for Biking – Get your pedal on. Massachusetts is ranked the third most bicycle-friendly state in the nation by the League of American Bicyclists.
#3 Highest Well-Being for Women – Research from the Social Science Research Council finds that Boston women have the third highest well-beings in the country.
#3 Fastest Download Speeds – Need files, fast? You’re in the right place, as Pando Networks found Boston to have the third fastest download speeds in the nation.
#4 Best City in the Country – We’re one of the best at being, well, the best. Bloomberg BusinessWeek named Boston fourth overall on their list of America’s 50 Best Cities.
#5 Best Place to Raise a Child – With nearly universal healthcare and some of the best hospitals in the country, Smart Planet named Boston as a great city to raise a kid.
#6th Most Sexually Satisfying City for Men – Are you listening, gentlemen? RealAge.com names the Hub one of the most satisfying places for men to get it on.
#7 Best to Stay Young – Boston is an eternal fountain of youth, according to RealAge.com. We top the list at seventh best city to stay young.
#8 Best for Jobs – If you need a new job, you’re in luck. Forbes named Boston one of the best cities in the nation for jobs, driven by our low recession and unemployment rates and our rising household incomes.
#8 Happiest City in the Nation— Smile! According to the Daily Beast, Boston is one of the happiest places to be. Similarly, a Career Bliss study reveals Boston is the 8th Happiest City in the Nation for Young Professionals.
#8 Freshest City in the Country – A study from Ziploc revealed that Boston’s high number of farmers’ markets makes it one of the freshest cities in the nation.
#9 Best City for Cleantech – According to CleanEdge, “Boston area’s claim to clean-tech leadership comes from its role as a powerhouse of technology development and venture capital activity.”
#10 Least Corrupt State – Massachusetts’ state government is the 10th least corrupt in the country, according to the Center for Public Integrity. Unfortunately, we scored an “F” for transparency in public access to information and state budget processes.
Best Beer City in the World – While not given a specific ranking, Boston falls into the top 10 for the best beer cities in the world, thanks to USA Today.
The Bad
#1 Highest Number of Walks of Shame – According to data from Uber, Boston has more walks of shame than any other Uber operating city.
#1 Best City for Cougars – Cambridge is named the “Cougar Capital” of the Massachusetts, by dating site CougarLife.com. Meow.
#3 Naughtiest City – Boston is one of the nation’s most sinful cities, with 57 percent of Bostonians surveyed committing one of the seven deadly sins six times a week.
#3 Worst Grocery Stores – Shaw’s earns the title as the third worst grocery store in America, according to Consumer Reports.
#5 Most Expensive Labor Day Weekend Getaway– CheapHotels.org says Boston is one of the priciest cities in which to celebrate Labor Day Weekend.
#5 Highest Number of Drunk Singles – Because everyone looks better with beer goggles on, Boston has the highest number of drunk singles in the country, according to a study from dating site HowAboutWe.
#5 Riskiest for Cybercrime – Time to switch your passwords. Norton found that if you work on a computer in Boston, you have the 5th highest risk factors in the nation for experiencing a cybercrime.
#6 City That Buys/Wears the Most Sweatpants – You could skew this one as the “most comfortable,” but I think our allegiance to sweatpants just shows how poorly dressed Bostonians are.
#7 Best for Infidelity – According to a study from Ashley Madison, a dating website that facilitates adultery, Boston ranks the 7th best city in the nation for cheating.
#8 Most Expensive Place to Get Married – If you aren’t cheating, you’re forking over a lot of money for a wedding. According to the TheKnot.com and WeddingChannel.com, Boston is the 8th most expensive city in the nation to get married.
#7 Least Sexually Satisfying for Women – While men have it good, ladies of the hub weren’t so lucky, with Boston coming in at 7th least sexually satisfying city in the country, according to RealAge.com.
#10 Most Likely to Lose Our Cell Phones – Can you hear me now? Bostonians are one of the most likely to lose our cell phones in places like coffee shops.
#17 Best for Hipsters – Allston-Brighton was also named the 18th most hipster neighborhood in the country. And then all the hipsters left because it was uncool.
#89 Worst City to Own a Dog – Poor fido. Boston is named one of the worst cities in America to own a dog.
The Ugly
#1 City in Which Men Expect Sex on the First Date – If you date in Boston, this ranking is an especially tough one to take. According to Glamour and Match.com, 12.5 percent of Boston men expect sex on the first date, the highest percentage of any city in the nation. Then, it gets worse. Boston women are the least satisfied with the dating scene in Boston compared to women in other cities. What we learned in 2012: Don’t date in Boston.
