Huntsville, Ala., is the best place to live in America, according to U.S. News & World Report, which analyzed the 150 most populous metropolitan areas based on value, desirability, job market and quality of life.
U.S. News' rankings for 2022-23, released May 17, looked at five key dimensions: job market index (20 percent), value index (25 percent), quality of life (32.5 percent), desirability index (17.5 percent) and net migration (5 percent).
The quality of life dimension includes six factors, including the quality and availability of healthcare (10 percent), which uses data from U.S. News' "Best Hospitals" rankings to assess the number of ranked hospitals within 50, 100 and 250 miles of each metro area.
Below are the top 30 states and their overall score in the new rankings, which can be found in full here. Although many of the overall scores are tied, the weighted index scores determine their overall rank. (Find more on the methodology here.)
- Huntsville, Ala.: 7.0
- Colorado Springs, Colo.: 6.8
- Green Bay, Wis.: 6.8
- Boulder, Colo.: 6.8
- San Jose, Calif.: 6.7
- Raleigh and Durham, N.C.: 6.7
- Fayetteville, Ark.: 6.7
- Portland, Maine: 6.7
- Sarasota, Fla.: 6.7
- San Francisco: 6.7
- Ann Arbor, Mich.: 6.6
- Naples, Fla.: 6.6
- Austin, Texas: 6.6
- Des Moines, Iowa: 6.6
- Boise, Idaho: 6.6
- Grand Rapids, Mich.: 6.6
- Madison, Wis.: 6.6
- Boston: 6.6
- Washington, D.C.: 6.6
- Melbourne, Fla.: 6.5
- Albany, N.Y.: 6.5
- Portland, Ore.: 6.5
- Salt Lake City: 6.5
- Jacksonville, Fla.: 6.5
- Nashville, Tenn.: 6.5
- Pittsburgh: 6.5
- Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.: 6.5
- Lincoln, Neb.: 6.5
- Omaha, Neb.: 6.5
- Charlotte, N.C.: 6.5