Data-Driven List Allows Users to Curate the 100 Best Places to Live with Affordability & Personalization in Mind
Livability.com announces the release of its annual Top 100 Best Places to Live list, which recognizes the best small and mid-sized communities across the U.S. The list is based on extensive research into economic variables and factors that influence quality of life, with a unique emphasis on affordability.
Per Livability’s attention to cost of living, only cities with a median home value of $500,000 or less were included in the final Top 100 Best Places to Live. Analysis of average rent and home prices relative to income in each city is also part of the selection process.
“Our Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S. is a data-driven collection of what we consider to be the best small to mid-sized places to live in. It’s the only list out there truly honing in on affordability, lauding the amazing cities across the country other than our large U.S. metros,” says Amanda Ellis, Livability.com editor-in-chief. “Our Top 100 Best Places to Live celebrates the cities where most Americans are busy creating dream careers, building families, launching businesses and leading meaningful lives.”
Livability.com partnered with Applied Geographic Solutions (AGS) to curate the Top 100 Best Places to Live list based on about 100 data points measuring eight categories: economy, housing and cost of living, amenities, transportation, environment, safety, education, and health. Livability and AGS collected data for more than 2,000 U.S. cities with populations between 75,000 and 500,000, using an algorithm to weigh the eight categories against each other and select the 100 best places to live.
In a move to make the list more personalized than ever before, the algorithm ranked all eight categories equally in this year’s selection process. The list’s filters allow users to tailor the ranking to reflect which categories are most important to them. Other filters can personalize the list based on home pricing, population size and region of the country, alongside interactive maps.
“This is the first year we have weighted all eight data categories equally with our algorithm,” Ellis says. “In the past, we gave additional weight to categories we believed would be more important to our readers. But because we truly want our list to help you find your personal best place, we are weighting our criteria equally this year to select our cities, leaving it up to each individual to filter and rank the categories that mean the most to them for a personalized top 100 ranking of the best places to live.”
While the 2024 Top 100 Best Places to Live does not represent a ranking until users select their preferences, a sampling of some of the cities featured include:
- Carmel, IN
- Raleigh, NC
- Boise, ID
- Warwick, RI
- Omaha, NE
- Reno, NV
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Santa Fe, NM
- Richmond, VA
- Knoxville, TN
The 2024 Top 100 Best Places to Live represents the top 5% of U.S. cities with populations in the studied range. The complete list of the 2024 Top 100 Best Places to Live is featured on Livability.com, along with filters to create your personalized Top 100 list and detailed articles about what makes each city an exceptional place to live.
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Amanda Ellis, Editor-in-Chief, Livability.com
aellis@livability.com
or
Cara Sanders, Managing Editor, Livability.com
csanders@livability.com
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