City: Jacksonville
State: Florida
Best Cities Overall Rank: 75
About Jacksonville:
While it is the largest city in Florida, Jacksonville still hosts the Tree Hill Nature Center Annual Butterfly Festival, held on the last Saturday in April, featuring the release of over 1,000 butterflies.
Jacksonville has 75,235 acres of parkland including pools and playgrounds. It also is home to two quality children's hospitals and 24 outstanding pediatricians!
County: Duval
Population: 807,815
Official website for city visitors' bureau/city: Visitors' bureau website
Newspaper with the largest circulation: The Florida Times-Union
Jacksonville blogs:
Jacksonville's Facebook page: Follow Jacksonville on Facebook
Jacksonville's Twitter page: Follow Jacksonville on Twitter
Education rank: 81
High School graduation rate 2008: 68.4%
Blue Ribbon Schools, 2003-2009: 4
Blue Ribbon Schools per 100,000 people: 0.5
NEAYC-accredited preschools: 13
NAEYC schools per 100,000 people: 1.61
NAEP State proficiency reading, grade 8: 264
Pupil/Teacher Ratio: 15.9
Total Expenditures Per Student: $9,389
Health rank: 32
Quality children's hospitals: 2
Hospitals per 100,000 people: 0.25
Quality Pediatricians: 24
Quality Pediatricians per 100,000: 2.97
Average number of Unhealthy Air Quality days between 2006-2008, by county: 1
Safety rank: 71
Violent Crimes, 2008: 8032
Violent Crime Rate per 100,000: 994.29
Sex Offenders: 1610
Sex Offenders per 100,000: 199.3
Economy rank: 92
Travel time to work, 2006-2008, in minutes: 23.5
Percent of labor force unemployed, January 2010: 12.1
Best Performing Cities Job Index: 1179.41
Median Home Sale Price: $136,800
5-Year Home Value Index: -2.21%
Percent of homes sold for a loss: 45.45%
Recreation Rank: 1
Parkland acreage, 2008 (includes pools and playgrounds): 75,235
Parkland per 100,000: 9,313.39
