Diversions April 1, 2010

America’s Craziest Cities

Some of America’s craziest cities might come as a surprise.
Reported by

The Daily Beast ranked America’s craziest cities (the 57 largest metropolitan areas) based on a hodgepodge of criteria: psychiatrists per capita, stress, eccentricity, and drinking levels.

While party cities like Las Vegas, New York City, and New Orleans showed up in the top 10, none were the craziest city of all. The honor of America’s craziest city went to a city in America’s heartland not necessarily renowned for its parties: Cincinnati, Ohio. Other non-spring-break destinations, such as Providence and Milwaukee, also showed up high on the list.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

And (drumroll please), the top 10 craziest cities in America are:

1.Cincinnati
Psychiatrists per capita: 31 out of 57
Stress: 5 out of 57
Eccentricity: 12 out of 57
Drinking: 17 (tie) out of 57

2.San Francisco
Psychiatrists per capita: 1
Stress: 57
Eccentricity: 2
Drinking: 11 (tie)

3.Providence
Psychiatrists per capita: 6
Stress: 38
Eccentricity: 21
Drinking: 7

4. Milwaukee
Psychiatrists per capita: 10
Stress: 33 (tie)
Eccentricity: 29
Drinking: 1 (tie)

5. Las Vegas
Psychiatrists per capita: 55
Stress: 9
Eccentricity: 9
Drinking: 1 (tie)

6. Philadelphia
Psychiatrists per capita: 30
Stress: 2 (tie)
Eccentricity: 16
Drinking: 27

7. New York City
Psychiatrists per capita: 4
Stress: 19
Eccentricity: 4
Drinking: 49 (tie)

8. Tucson
Psychiatrists per capita: 21
Stress: 17
Eccentricity: 35
Drinking: 4

9. San Antonio
Psychiatrists per capita: 42
Stress: 8
Eccentricity: 23
Drinking: 9

10. New Orleans
Psychiatrists per capita: 3
Stress: 30
Eccentricity: 1
Drinking: 49 (tie)

For the psychiatrists per capita score, The Daily Beast based its methodology on the number of shrinks to fill the therapy demand person, using data from the Census and Citysearch.com (the lower the score, the more psychiatrists per capita). They based the stress ranking on a 2008 national survey by Gallup-Healthways and the drinking rating on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eccentricity was the most subjective of the criteria, based off of the knowledge of a travel writer about how “crazy, wacky, and weird” each city is.

Data & Research March 31, 2010

More Employers Reinstating Match in 2010

Research from Fidelity Investments indicated many employers are reinstating employer matching contributions to their 401(k) plans.
Reported by

By July of 2009, 8% of companies with an employer contribution among Fidelity-recordkept 401(k) plans had suspended the match as the economy continued to weaken and employers looked for ways to cut costs. When surveyed this month about their intentions of bringing back the match, 44% of these employers indicated they have either already reinstated the match or plan to over the next 12 months, according to Fidelity.

Fidelity found reinstatements are more common in larger companies, as roughly 70% of companies with 5,000 or more employees reported already having reinstated the match or planning to do so in the coming 12 months. The rate of reinstatement was smallest at companies with 500 or less employees; 36% said they have reinstated the match or plan to do so in the next 12 months.  

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

The research indicated that as of December 31, four out of five (80%) plan sponsors offered employer contributions to retirement savings plans as a workplace benefit. Of the plan sponsors for which Fidelity tracks matching data, the most common match rate is 100% on each employee dollar contribution, up to 3%, at 35% of plans. The second most common match, with 14% of plans reporting this rate, is 50% of each employee dollar, up to 6%.  

Fidelity said previous research has shown the average employee participation rate for companies that offer a match is 63%, while at companies that do not offer a match it is 57%.

 

«