On figures alone Maitland stacks up as a better place to live than anywhere in Cessnock.
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More Maitland residents walk to work and volunteer on average compared to Cessnock, both indications of a happy community.
The data contradicts Cessnock councillor James Ryan’s claim that Maitland was the saddest place in the Hunter.
His biggest gripe was that Maitland was wedded to its cars in the urban sprawl.
“There’s much better population density in Maitland than Cessnock,” statistician and Nation Master founder Luke Metcalfe said.
Cessnock has just 26 residents per square kilometre across the local government area compared to Maitland’s 605.
The data, published at www.nationmaster.com, serves as a comparison for home buyers.
Blow-for-blow Maitland comes out on top.
Maitland owns 1.4 cars per household, but 10 per cent of people walk to work.
Cessnock car ownership runs at 1.8 cars per home and only 3 per cent stroll to and from work.
Volunteering runs at 14 per cent in Maitland compared to Cessnock’s 10 per cent.
“We’re very much concerned with livability,” Mr Metcalfe said. “And comparing stats like this is very much the kind of thing we cover.”
The website also ranks cities on lifestyle.
Maitland and Cessnock can’t be split on lifestyle.
Both score seven out of 10 for proximity to services like cafes.
Access to schools is also ranked and both cities rank an ordinary five from 10.
Maitland only just edges out Cessnock on affluence too, with scores of six and five out of 10 respectively.
Mr Metcalfe said such data was critical for people considering a tree change.
“You’ve got to compare what’s nearby,” he said.