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Ranking the best places to live is a difficult task, and any such list is going to generate debate over who was overrated and who was snubbed.
Comparing several rankings of cities gives us a better picture of which places consistently get high marks.
We looked at several popular rankings of the top US cities to live in, including lists by US News and World Report, 24/7 Wall Street, Money, Niche, Livability, and SmartAsset. Each of the rankings weighed metrics including quality of life, cost of living, availability of jobs, education rates, and safety.
It's clear to see that across the rankings, certain cities made repeat appearances at the top. Read on to see the best places in the US to live, according to several recent rankings.
- Austin, Texas
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Denver, Colorado
- Arlington, Virginia
- Plano, Texas
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Boise, Idaho
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Carmel, Indiana
- Seattle, Washington
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
Calling such a list "Best places to live" and using cost of living as a factor, ignores the fact that people who own homes and have good jobs in certain areas are not as affected by high cost of living as people who would like to move in. Yes, I'm thinking of coastal Southern California.
San Diego may not make the "Best places to move to" list because of its high COL, but it is surely one of the "Best places to live." If you're already there.
I would live in four of those cities. There is only one that I like more than my current city, and I would not be able to afford my current lifestyle, there.
A lot of this depends on if your talking about single people or families. Denver's a fine place for single people. For a family, it's fine so long as you don't mind raising kids out of a 1000 sqft apartment or a 50 minute commute.
I don't think any of the high COL high commute time cities qualify as highly liveable for a middle class family.
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Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
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