Boston makes top 20 in ranking of America's "best places to live"

BOSTON - Boston does better than all but a handful of cities in a new ranking of America's "Best Places To Live."

U.S. News & World Report came up with its list by looking at the 150 most populous metro areas. Boston finished 18th.  

"To make the top of the list, a place had to have good value, be a desirable place to live, have a strong job market and a high quality of life," U.S. News wrote.

Boston performed the best in the areas of desirability, job market and quality of life, while getting a middling grade for value, given the sky-high price of real estate in the area.

Huntsville, Alabama was first on the list, followed by Colorado Springs and Green Bay, Wisconsin. Portland, Maine was ranked eighth. Manchester, New Hampshire was ranked 60th and Worcester was 69th.

Click here to see the full ranking.

Last fall, Boston was ranked the 43rd-best place to retire by U.S. News.