Naples, Fla., is the best place to live in the country, with Boise, Idaho, following closely behind, according to U.S. News & World Report's "150 best places to live in the U.S. in 2024-25" list, published May 21.
U.S. News & World Report ranked 150 major U.S. cities across four indexes: quality of life (including crime rates, well-being scores, and availability of healthcare), value (including housing availability and price parity), desirability (including weather temperateness and net migration levels) and the job market (including average salary and unemployment rate). Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Census Bureau, FBI, Sharecare, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. News rankings of the Best High Schools and Best Hospitals were used to develop the ranking.
New data considerations, including a shift from metropolitan area-based data, used in previous editions of the rankings, to city-based data — resulted in many new appearances in the top 25 from places located in the Midwest and South.
Here are the top 25 best places to live, according to the ranking:
1. Naples, Fla
2. Boise, Idaho
3. Colorado Springs, Colo.
4. Greenville, S.C.
5. Charlotte, N.C.
6. Raleigh, N.C.
7. Huntsville, Ala.
8. Virginia Beach, Va.
9. Austin, Texas
10. Boulder, Colo.
11. Sarasota, Fla.
12. Green Bay, Wis.
13. Charleston, S.C.
14. Madison, Wis.
15. Lexington, Ky.
16. Oklahoma City
17. Asheville, N.C.
18. Omaha, Neb.
19. Ann Arbor, Mich.
20. Fort Wayne, Ind.
21. Fayetteville, Ark.
22. San Francisco
23. Greensboro, N.C.
24. Lincoln, Neb.
25. South Bend, Ind.
Click here to see the full ranking.