O.C. Is Cooler Than L.A.--at Least From One P.O.V.

They won’t like this much in L.A., but Orange County has been dubbed a whole lot cooler than the county to the north by editors of P.O.V., a magazine for young male professionals.

In its annual listing of the best U.S. cities in which to start a new business, P.O.V. puts the Anaheim-Irvine-Orange region in 26th place in its first appearance on the tally of 75 communities. Los Angeles is in 58th place, down from 48th last year.

The only California locale to top Orange County is San Francisco, which moved up to 24th place from 41st last year.

P.O.V., launched in 1995 as a guidebook for young male professionals, gives “coolness” and “quality of life” the most weight in its rankings, at 25% each.

The magazine defines coolness as the percentage of people in the community “between the ages of 22 and 29, with points added for [cultural] diversity.”

Quality of life is a rating based on a city’s climate, crime rate, average disposable income and the number of golf courses and health spas per capita.

Other factors are the community’s expected job growth, 15%; its business failure rate, 10%; and taxes, 10%. The percentage of the work force with college degrees is worth 5% of the total score, as are average business operating expenses and community accessibility (based on traffic congestion, efficiency of mass transit and availability and size of airports).

The magazine’s December issue, which includes the best-for-new-business list, is scheduled to hit newsstands today.

Other California locations and their rankings this year are San Diego, 27 (up from 28); San Jose, 57 (59 last year); Oakland, 66, (73); Sacramento, 69 (72); and Fresno, which moved up to No. 74 to avoid last year’s last-place finish by one position.

At the top of the list: Seattle, followed by Austin, Texas; Las Vegas; Denver; and Burlington, Vt.

At the bottom: Hartford, Conn., whose “high crime rate, high unemployment and poor school system” earned it the low ranking, according to P.O.V.