U.S. News & World Report Ranks the 100 Best Places to Live
Denver, Colorado, is #1; followed by #2 Austin, #3 Fayetteville, and #96 New York City
U.S. News & World Report ranked the 2016 Best Places to Live in the United States. Denver, Colorado, is named the No. 1 place to live on the inaugural list, followed by Austin, Texas, at No. 2. Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, take the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively. A second Colorado city, Colorado Springs, rounds out the top five.
New York City ranked #96. Fresno (97), Stockton (98), Modesto (99), California and San Juan, Puerto Rico (100) round out the bottom five. Surprisingly, the Big Apple is less desireable than places like Detroit, Baltimore, Birmingham, Alabama, and Jackson, Mississippi, according to the report. Albany (36), Syracuse (53), Buffalo (57) and Rochester (60) also ranked ahead of our fair city. Last September, an online publication ranked Upstate New York as the “Worst Place to Live in America.” The high tax environment of New York State was one of the chief factors in that ranking.
The list ranks the country’s 100 largest metropolitan areas based on affordability, job prospects and quality of life.
“The Best Places to Live ranking accounts for the most important concerns people have about where to live, such as cost of living, employment opportunities and access to good schools,” said Miriam Weiner, product manager for Real Estate at U.S. News. “Top-ranked areas not only have steady job markets, but they also have attributes that contribute to a high quality of life – affordability, low crime rates, shorter commute times and quality health care.”
Roughly two-thirds of the U.S. population lives within one of the metropolitan areas on the Best Places to Live list. Among these cities, some smaller ones in the middle of the country make a notably strong showing.
With a close proximity to Denver and the Rocky Mountains, Colorado Springs ranks in the top 10 because it is viewed as a desirable place to live. Fayetteville, Arkansas, makes the list for being the most affordable, while Boise, Idaho, scores high due to a low rate of crime and high quality of life. Boise also has one of the lowest unemployment rates out of the top 10.
The 2016 Best Places to Live ranking was determined in part by a public survey of thousands of individuals across the U.S. to find out what makes a place desirable to live in. The methodology also factors in data from the United States Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as U.S. News rankings of the Best High Schools and Best Hospitals.
Follow Us