Eugene falls off Money magazine's "best" list.

Byline: Sherri Buri McDonald The Register-Guard

While Eugene is popping up on a lot of "best places" lists, it has slipped off what many consider the granddaddy of these lists: Money magazine's "Best Places to Live."

Back in 1998, Eugene ranked third out of 23 midsized, Western metropolitan areas.

This year, Eugene wasn't even in the running for Money's list of 100 best small cities (50,000 to 300,000 population). Fort Collins, Colo., was ranked No. 1.

"A place can change between 1998 and 2006," said the magazine's executive editor, Craig Matters.

So, too, can the way data are collected and presented.

Until the late 1990s, Money based its list on U.S. Census data for 300 metropolitan statistical areas. By that time, thanks to advances in spreadsheet software, the Internet and the number of firms specializing in this type of research, it became easier to get and manipulate data for individual cities, Matters said.

Money still publishes "best places" lists every year, but now the magazine focuses on small towns one year and larger cities the next, addressing the criticism that communities can't possibly change so much from year to year that a city could top the list one year, and fall off it the next.

Money puts all the data on its Web site and created a tool enabling people to compare their community with the best places average.

"It's our best franchise online," Matters said.

A quick glance shows how Eugene stacks up to the "best places average." Eugene's median family income of $53,826 lags the best places average of $76,893. Eugene's job growth of 2.76 percent is well below the average of 10.97 percent. Eugene's median home price of $213,750 is close to the average of $259,566. Eugene's property crime risk is more than twice the best places average.

Money's list isn't free of flaws or criticism, Matters acknowledges. But it does tend to reflect what people care about, he said. Before crunching the numbers this year, Money hired a national polling company to make sure it was weighting the data correctly.

Respondents' top concerns, according to the survey, were economic opportunity, high-quality schools, low crime, and a good arts and leisure scene, Matters said.

Money creates a short list of 25 to 30 places, based solely on the data, then Money sends reporters to the places, he said.

"You're doing more intensive reporting, looking for booby traps," Matters said. "You go downtown, and there is no downtown; it's been bulldozed, and there's just a mall there. Or crime looks good, but the methamphetamine problem is really out of control. You knock places off the list that may look perfect by the numbers."

Numbers alone certainly can't tell the whole story.

Back in 1999, "Places Rated Almanac" rated Eugene-Springfield the "most normal place," because it most closely matched national statistical averages.

Anyone who has lived in Eugene for any stretch of time knows that it's far from normal - and some actually revel in that fact.