The report, which looks at 150 of the most populous metros in the United States, is “intended to help readers make the most informed decision when choosing where to settle down.” The report and rankings are based on several metrics including the quality of healthcare, schools, cost of living, and access to affordable housing and well-paying jobs. Data from several sources, including U.S. News’ internal resources, the U.S. Department of Labor, the FBI, and the U.S. Census Bureau, were categorized into five weighted indexes:
the job market (the unemployment rate + average salary)value (or housing affordability)quality of life (crime rates, health care quality, air quality, etc)desirability (whether or not people want to live there) net migration (how many people are moving there)
U.S. News calculated the weight of each index by using “answers from a March 2022 public survey in which people from across the country voted for what they believed was the most important factor to consider when choosing where to live.” One key takeaway when looking into the rankings is that there’s a big variation in the affordability of each city on the list, even among the highest rankings. Housing costs have been a huge stressor for parents over the past several years, and the #1 ranked city is, well, affordable. Huntsville, Alabama, which ranks number one on the list, features housing costs below the national average. But Colorado Springs, ranked number two on the list, has housing costs far above the national average. What those cities were ranked the highest for, and what makes them so liveable — Huntsville is very affordable and Colorado Springs incredibly desirable — are different. Both cities ranked incredibly high in “quality of life.” So, if finding an ideal city to live in hinders something like how affordable the homes are, you’ll want to make sure you investigate the data points a little deeper. Thankfully, the Best Places to Live report lays it all out. And, as always, you might want to look at the weather in some of these cities. Not everyone is cut out for a Michigan winter.
Here are the top 20 places to live according to the 2022 report:
To see the complete list of the 150 U.S. cities featured in the “Best Places to Live” report, check out the full U.S. News & World report.
