ANDERSON — A recent poll ranking the best cities in Indiana for young families showed Anderson has a lot of work to do when it comes to attracting those families. The city ranked 107 out of 109 cities.
The study, conducted by Nerd Wallet, a company that specializes in consumer education on finance, looked at several factors for the study, including schools, average home values, average family income and how many married couples in the area have at least one child. The poll only looked at cities, towns or census-designated places with a population of more than 5,000.
Anderson ranked low in schools, average family income and how well that income has grown in last few years. The city's low housing values, which the poll said averaged $73,600, helped improve the score slightly. Elwood ranked 71 out of 109 and had a significantly better increase in average family income than Anderson.
Fishers ranked at the top of the poll with great schools and the highest average family income. Westfield, Granger, Brownsburg and Avon rounded out the top five.
Greg Winkler, executive director of the Anderson Economic Development Department, said the city has been working hard to get businesses that are going to provide good paying jobs when they come to Anderson.
Winkler said a study done by MIT looked at the living wage in large areas, including Anderson, to show what businesses should be paying. He said Anderson's started at $15 per hour and then went up depending on spouses, children, etc.
He said now when trying to reach an agreement with a business, they look at not just the jobs it will bring but also how much those jobs will pay.
"We've got an opportunity now to be a little more selective with the type of companies we're targeting," Winkler said. "Jobs with high salary and benefits, those are the kinds of companies we're looking for."
Mayor Kevin Smith said there are two sides to the problem. The first is the economic side that can be helped with jobs, the second is the quality of life, which he said is a big factor in enticing younger families to live in the Anderson area.
The education system plays a role in more of those issues, as students need better education to get the jobs that are available and better schools attract families with children.
"We've been rolling out different education partnerships recently to help improve the education levels," Smith said. "We've been working with the Anderson schools on more vocational opportunities as well as other programs like the Anderson TV channel."
Efforts have also been made to improve the quality of life with new walking trails along the river as well as the sidewalk project going on along Jackson Street.
"Those projects are things people would just expect to see in places like Noblesville or Fishers," Smith said. "We've got to continue to cultivate an environment that attracts younger people."
Smith said he and his staff are aware of the shortcomings of Anderson but keep working every day to improve the lives of the current residents and attract new ones.
"These problems are what drives us every day to keep working," Smith said.