How Hard Is It to Live in Queens?

Last week The New York Times’ The Upshot blog crunched a lot of numbers and came up with a nationwide map indicating how hard or easy it is to live in each county in the United States. It considered the percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree, median household income, unemployment rate, disability rate, life expectancy and obesity. The winner of this race to the bottom was Clay County, Kentucky.

Crain’s recently parsed the data for the city’s five boroughs. And the results are not what you’d expect. Manhattan was the easiest borough to live in. Queens was ranked second, just a hair behind. The hardest borough to live in was the Bronx. Brooklyn was fourth and Staten Island was smack in the middle.

Of course the blog did not consider cost of living and the biggest expense here in New York City — housing. What do you think? How hard is it to live in Queens? Is life here easier than in the rest of the city?

How Hard Is It to Live in New York City? [Crain’s]
Where Are the Hardest Places to Live in the U.S.? [New York Times]

Photo: ChrisGoldNY