Super Bowl 2011: Pittsburgh vs. Green Bay, Which City’s Better?
As the Packers take on the Steelers in the Super Bowl on Sunday, The Daily Beast hosts a civic smackdown, pitting the cities in 24 categories, from crime to looks to STDs.
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Pittsburgh and Green Bay football fans will have to wait ‘til Sunday to settle the score regarding who has the better roster on the field, but which city can claim superior residents and a better quality of life? Which is Titletown, USA when it comes to single men (and women), good drivers, business opportunities and sunny days?
The Daily Beast decided to pit the two metros against one another in two dozen categories to figure out which city wins the ring in everything but professional pigskin. We used our own plentiful city and state rankings, as well as reputable lists culled by other media outlets to create a complete scorecard.
One thing to note: For many categories, where Green Bay, with a bit more than 100,000 people, was too small to come up on the radar, we used the stat for Milwaukee, which considers the Packers its hometown team, too. We also considered state-level comparisons in some categories.
So, who’s in the winner in this battle of true bragging rights? Read on for the full play-by-play…
Category: Vanity
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: Not a close point here. Milwaukee came in among the top 40 vainest cities in the country, while Pittsburgh ranked half as vain.
Score: Green Bay 0, Pittsburgh 1
Category: Intelligence
Winner: Green Bay (Milwaukee)
Highlights: In terms of smarts, Milwaukee topped Pittsburgh by just seven IQ points.
Score: Green Bay 1, Pittsburgh 1
Category: Craziness
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: While both metropolises ranked among the top 20 of nearly 60 cities in terms of emotional health, Milwaukee claimed spot 4 to Pittsburgh’s 18.
Score: Green Bay 1, Pittsburgh 2
• The Super Bowl’s Threat to Men• 20 Most Effective Super Bowl Ads• Football’s Sexiest TeammatesCategory: Philanthropy
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: Pittsburgh has nearly twice the number of volunteers per capita than Milwaukee, putting it at No. 16 on our most charitable city list compared to Milwaukee’s 24th spot.
Score: Green Bay 1, Pittsburgh 3
Category: Physical Fitness
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: Neither city can claim to be super svelte, but Pittsburgh ekes by Milwaukee, just 10 spots lower on the list the 100 of fattest cities.
Score: Green Bay 1, Pittsburgh 4
Category: Fiscal Fitness
Winner: Green Bay
Highlights: A tight category, but Pennsylvania ranked as the 29th state most likely to go bankrupt while Wisconsin came in at 32nd.
Score: Green Bay 2, Pittsburgh 4
Category: Eligible Men
Winner: Green Bay (Milwaukee)
Highlights: Milwaukee tops Pittsburgh as a better city to meet single men, but just barely.
Score: Green Bay 3, Pittsburgh 4
Category: Eligible Women
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: With a score of 74 to 81, Pittsburgh came out ahead of Milwaukee for singles seeking women.
Score: Green Bay 3, Pittsburgh 5
Category: Environmental Responsibility
Winner: Green Bay (Milwaukee)
Highlights: The Steel City didn’t even rank among the 50 greenest cities, making Green Bay the clear winner.
Score: Green Bay 4, Pittsburgh 5
Category: Tolerance
Winner: Green Bay (Wisconsin)
Highlights: Another clear winner in this category, as Wisconsin earned the top spot as the most tolerant state.
Score: Green Bay 5, Pittsburgh 5
Category: Mom-friendliness
Winner: Green Bay (Milwaukee)
Highlights: The Brew City won the mommy wars by 70 slots, ranking No. 30 on the best cities for moms. Pittsburgh’s rank? A modest 100.
Score: Green Bay 6, Pittsburgh 5
Category: Cost of Living
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: Your dollar will stretch 4 percent more in Pittsburgh than it will in Green Bay.
Score: Green Bay 6, Pittsburgh 6
Category: Smoking
Winner: Green Bay (Milwaukee)
Highlights: Milwaukee has fewer smokers, who smoke fewer cigarettes per day, compared to Pittsburgh.
Score: Green Bay 7, Pittsburgh 6
Category: Physical Attractiveness
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: On a state level, Pennsylvania (No. 12) ranked well ahead of Wisconsin (No. 33).
Score: Green Bay 7, Pittsburgh 7
Category: Stress
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: Milwaukee ranked a full six spots ahead of Pittsburgh on the list of the country’s most stressful cities.
Score: Green Bay 7, Pittsburgh 8
Category: Quality of Drivers
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: Comparing the numbers fatal crashes and careless drivers, Wisconsin has inferior drivers by far.
Score: Green Bay 7, Pittsburgh 9
Category: Business-friendly
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: Want to start a business? Head to Pittsburgh, which ranked more than 100 slots higher than Green Bay on the list of best places for business.
Score: Green Bay 7, Pittsburgh 10
Category: Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: Though it’s close, Pittsburgh has a smaller rate of sexually transmitted diseases according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Score: Green Bay 7, Pittsburgh 11
Category: Innovation
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: This was an easy field goal for the Steel City, earning the 19th spot among America’s most innovative cities while Green Bay was lost at the 77th spot.
Score: Green Bay 7, Pittsburgh 12
Category: Crime
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: Not a close call here. According to violent-crime statistics released by the FBI, Pittsburgh had 343 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2009. Milwaukee had nearly 500 incidents per 100,000 residents.
Score: Green Bay 7, Pittsburgh 13
Category: Corruption
Winner: Green Bay
Highlights: Among the 50 states, Pennsylvania is the 8th most corrupt and Wisconsin is the 18th.
Score: Green Bay 8, Pittsburgh 13
Category: Weather
Winner: Green Bay
Highlights: Neither Green Bay nor Pittsburgh is a sunny city, but Green Bay has a slight upper hand here, with sunny days comprising more than half of the average year. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has sunny days just 45 percent of the year.
Score: Green Bay 9, Pittsburgh 13
Category: Raising Kids
Winner: Pittsburgh
Highlights: Among the 100 best cities to rear children, Pittsburgh ranked No. 24 while Milwaukee was buried at No. 87.
Score: Green Bay 9, Pittsburgh 14
Category: Football fans
Winner: Green Bay
Highlights: Not enough to surpass Pittsburgh, but Packers fans can take heart: Green Bay has more devoted football fans. Packers fans took 3rd place while Steelers fans ranked a lowly 20th.
FINAL SCORE: Green Bay 10, Pittsburgh 14