As a retirement community in California, Elk Grove ranks poorly in WalletHub study

The lack of activities helped Elk Grove earn a low ranking as a  California retirement community in
a just-released study from WalletHub.com |     

As part of his political mantra, Elk Grove City Councilmember Darren Suen has stated he desires to make the city not only an ideal place for families but to transform it into a retirement haven. If Suen is true to his words, a just-released study by WalletHub.com shows that he, the mayor and his three city council colleagues have a herculean task ahead. 

In their study, WalletHub examined 257 cities in California and rated Elk Grove in the bottom 30-percent with a ranking at 184. Other nearby cities rated above Elk Grove include Roseville, 76; Lincoln, 87; West Sacramento, 123; Folsom, 138; Rocklin, 136; Sacramento, 152; Davis 153, Rancho Cordova 176, and Citrus Heights, 181; and four cities and communities ranked lower including Fair Oaks, 208; North Highlands, 216; Carmichael, 219; and Orangevale, 238. 

The three primary categories rated were quality of life, health care, and activities. They were weighted respectively at 50,40 and 10-percent of the score.

Elk Grove scored well in quality of life with a 50 ranking but fared poorly on health care and activities with scores of 224 and 227 respectively. 

The healthcare ranking, which is important for retirees, has 40-percent of the weight and has categories each contributed to 5.71-percent of the score. Among the factors considered are the following: 

• Health-Care Facilities per capita
• Home-Care Facilities per capita
• Family & General Physicians per 10,000 residents
• Dentists per 10,000 residents
• Nurses per 1,000 residents 
• Life Expectancy 
• Death rate for population aged 65 years & older

The city's poor ranking in senior health care will undoubtedly be a factor in the discussion of the proposed California Northstate University 400-bed hospital. While Elk Grove currently does not have a hospital in city limits, Dignity Health recently announced it would commence construction of their long-awaited hospital, which already has city approvals, that will have 100 to 200 beds and is expected to be open within seven years.

Additionally, Sacramento-area cities with higher ratings in healthcare such as West Sacramento, which has a healthcare ranking of 138, does not have a hospital in its city limits. Conversely, Folsom ranked 203 in healthcare - slightly higher than Elk Grove's 224 ranking - has the 106-bed acute care Mercy Folsom Hospital, which is rated as among the 250 best hospitals in the county according to Healthgrades 2019. 

Along with its poor healthcare rating, Elk Grove's low ranking is attributed to its poor activities score. Included in this classification are the following:

Number of Attractions: “attractions” include, for instance, zoos, museums, and theaters.

• Senior centers per capita
• Fitness & recreational sports centers per capita
• Golf courses & country clubs per capita
• Fishing Facilities per capita
• Museums per capita
• Theaters per capita
• Art galleries per capita*
• Music venues per capita
• Availability of adult volunteer activities
• Ideal Weather

Not surprisingly, high-income Bay Area cities dominated the top 50 spots overall. Likewise, communities statewide in lower-income areas, rural areas, Southern California's Inland Empire and the Central Valley were prominent in the lower-ranked cities.  

WalletHub.com data sources statement - Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Environmental Protection Agency, California Care Planning Council, County Health Rankings, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Charity Navigator, AreaVibes and WalletHub research.

Copyright by Elk Grove News © 2019. All right reserved.


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