PORT ANGELES — As Port Angeles’ competes to win a national magazine poll against Chattanooga, Tenn., it’s already receiving applause from other sources.
The website Livability.com placed Port Angeles among its list of America’s 100 Best Show Towns, it reported Monday.
Outside magazine’s tournament-style Best Town contest, meanwhile, approaches its Thursday finale.
As of Monday afternoon, Port Angeles had 37,517 votes, or 47.16 percent, and was trailing the more-populous Chattanooga, Tenn., which had 42,031 votes or 52.84 percent.
To vote in the Outside contest, visit www.tinyurl.com/PDN-outside before the deadline of 8:59 p.m. PDT Thursday.
Livability.com released its inaugural Top 100 Best Small Towns list Monday, with Port Angeles — population 19,090 — listed as No. 10 in its selection of towns with a population of 1,000 to 20,000.
Port Angeles was ranked behind Lebanon N.H., Los Alamos, N.M., Durango, Colo., St. Augustine, Fla., Bar Harbor, Maine, Louisville, Colo., Hood River, Ore., Spearfish, S.D., and Sebastopol, Calif.
Livability.com is operated by Franklin, Tenn.-based Journal Communications, a media and content marketing company that serves clients nationally in community and economic development, and the travel and tourism and agribusiness industries, according to the Journal Communications website.
“Port Angeles has had a bit of a good run lately,” said Russ Veenema, executive director of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The city’s latest recognition, based on data and studies rather than a public vote, arrived at a time when the city needs a bit of a boost to catch Chattanooga, Veenema said.
“It can only help,” he said.
Veenema noted that a contingent of Port Angeles boosters will be traveling to Seattle for an appearance on KING-TV, channel 5, this morning.
To see the other 90 small towns selected in the Most Livable Small Towns best 100, visit www.tinyurl.com/PDN-town.
Livability said its editors reviewed more than 12,000 towns using 40 data points, including factors in economy, health, housing, education, access to amenities, and infrastructure.
Data were taken from the U.S. Census Bureau, federal Department of Housing and Urban Affairs, Esri geographic information systems, from private community ratings companies including Walk Score and Great Schools, and from nonprofits like Americans for the Arts, according to the site’s listed methodology.
Town judging included factors such as local access to farmers markets, parks, golf courses and offerings in arts and culture.
Editors awarded “bonus points” to small towns that were centers of their regional community areas rather than being suburbs of larger towns or cities,
“America was built on small towns. Regardless of whether these cities and towns are suburbs of major metros, or hamlets unto themselves, they have great character and are great places to live,” said Matt Carmichael, editor of Livability, in a written statement about why the study was created.
The cities and towns selected for the list combine tight-knit communities key to small-town living with amenities more common to larger cities, Carmichael said.
The online magazine described Port Angeles:
“Home to Peninsula College, Port Angeles also has a high-achieving local school district. The city connects to the Olympic Discovery Trail that traverses 130 miles of lowlands bordered by the Olympic Mountain Range and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
“Other recreational opportunities for residents include mountains, rivers, lakes and forestland.
“An 80-bed Olympic Medical Center serves residents and anchors health care in Port Angeles, while city officials are redeveloping the downtown district.”
Port Angeles was listed as No. 5 on Liveability’s 2014 list, and it did not make the 2013 list.
Veenema noted that Livability.com changed its format from 2014 to 2015, and it may contain different data sets.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
