2 Colorado cities make the Top 10 for list of best places to live in the U.S.
If you've lived in Colorado for a while, you already know it's one of the best places to live in the country. And the publisher of one of the most popular annual lists of best places to live agrees. U.S. News & World Report released its list on Tuesday and three Colorado cities landed in the Top 25, with two in the Top 10.
Boulder was listed at No. 4 and Colorado Springs was ranked No. 9. Fort Collins is No. 23.
The publication praises Boulder's residents for their desire to seek out wellness. The description of Colorado Springs highlights the Colorado nature that's abundant all around as well as the city's rugged history. Fort Collins is noted for being among the Northern Colorado communities that are attracting many new residents.
In response to a Colorado Springs reddit post about the list, several commenters agreed with the high ranking for the southern Colorado city: As much as people, me included, like to bitch and complain, it makes sense. These articles are written for people who "make enough money to live here" and Colorado Springs is a really nice city if you can afford it.
Green Bay, Wisconsin, jumped two spots to become the best city to live in 2023, according to the publication's annual ranking. With a population of roughly 107,000, Green Bay gets especially high marks for the bang people get for their buck and overall quality of life -- the two most heavily weighted criteria in determining the rankings.
The median cost of a home in Green Bay is $247,092, which might help thaw any discomfort residents feel about the city's tough winters. Temperatures in Green Bay, Wisconsin's third-largest city after Madison and Milwaukee, average 24 degrees in January, with more than a foot of snow in that month alone.
With high inflation continuing to strain household budgets, how far a person's dollar will stretch in a given locale is increasingly important to many Americans.
"The value component is one of those things people are starting to put more emphasis on when considering moving to a new part of the country," Thorsby said.
In assessing the money value cities offer, U.S. News examined factors such as housing affordability and "price parity," which reflects an area's general cost of goods.
Hunstville, Alabama, ranks No. 2 on U.S. News' best places list, which ranked the nation's top 150 most populous metro areas based on their scores across the following categories: quality of life (accounting for 36% of the score), value (23%), desirability (22%), job market (19%). Factored in the quality-of-life index is data including high school students' college readiness, quality of education, proximity to quality health care, crime rates and air quality.
To gauge a city's overall desirability score, editors administered a survey asking people where they'd prefer to live, given the choice. Weather and a number of attributes such as museums, parks, restaurants and bars relative to a metro area's total population also helped determine cities' scores.
Here is the list of the top 10 places to live in the U.S. (see the full list):
1. Green Bay, WI
2. Huntsville, AL
3. Raleigh & Durham, NC
4. Boulder, CO
5. Sarasota, FL
6. Naples, FL
7. Portland, ME
8. Charlotte, NC
9. Colorado Springs, CO
10. Fayetteville, AR
