Catherine Rusoff
Why is Naples, Florida ranked as the best place to live in the US? It has a lot to do with the seaside city’s job prospects and residents’ overall quality of life, according to US News and World Report.
Naples, a tourist city, scored especially highly for the value residents get for their money and the extensive employment opportunities, which were given greater weight in the publication’s rankings this year compared to previous editions.
“This year’s survey revealed that people are worried about the economy and want more financial stability, so the value and job market categories were the most important factors for people. This is something that really helped Naples,” said Erika Giovanetti, from US News and World Report’s. loan expert, told CBS MoneyWatch.
Naples — with an ultra-low unemployment rate of just 2.9% from April onwards, well below the US overall rate of 3.9% — also offers relatively high wages and has one of the strongest job markets in the country. Top local industries in terms of employment prospects include tourism and healthcare.
“There is a large population of retirees, so there is a lot of well-paying work for healthcare professionals willing to care for an elderly population in that part of the country,” Giovanetti said.
Getty Images
The U.S. News analysis ranks 150 major U.S. cities based on criteria including the health of the local job market, housing affordability, value, quality of life and overall desirability. The rankings were designed to help Americans make informed decisions about where to reside based on their priorities, according to the news outlet.
To assess these priorities, US News asked thousands of Americans what is most important to them when choosing a place to live. It created four indices based on respondents’ responses, weighted as follows: Quality of Life (32%), Value (27%), Job Market (22%), Desirability (19%). The last category takes into account factors such as climate, the number of bars and restaurants per capita and the migration balance.
This year’s findings reflected consumers’ growing concerns about career opportunities and a city’s overall accessibility. Quality of life continues to be the top priority for Americans and therefore carried the most weight in determining the rankings.
“Although inflation has slowed in recent months, Americans are still feeling the impact on their wallets, so finding a place that is affordable and where they feel they have job security is increasingly important,” said Giovanetti. “We have also seen a cooling in the job market in recent years, and more people feel they have less power with employers, so they want to live in places where they will not be unemployed.”
Boise, Idaho, came in second in this year’s rankings, earning high marks for its value but scoring worse in the desirability category, while Colorado Springs, Colorado, came in third.
Greenville, South Carolina ranked 4th, while Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina ranked 5th and 6th, respectively, with the three cities scoring well for their dynamic job market and quality of life.
All of the cities in U.S. News’ top five “had a good balance across the board” and were especially strong in terms of value, housing affordability and job market, Giovanetti said. “We’re really looking for cities that shine in these categories.”
Lee Cohen/Getty Images
It’s no surprise that major cities like New York and Los Angeles, California failed in the value category due to their high costs of living. New York ranked 124th on the US News list, while Los Angeles ranked 130th.
“It can be very difficult for big cities to rank well, and a lot of that has to do with the value index, especially the outsized impact that value has on this year’s rankings,” Giovanetti told CBS MoneyWatch.
“Especially for people looking to buy, it’s unreasonable for them to think about finding a place to buy in New York or Los Angeles, even though higher wages will help reduce that.
US News’ top 10 cities to live in the US are below. Click here for the full list.
- Naples, Florida
- Boise, Idaho
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Greenville, South Carolina
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Huntsville, Alabama
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Austin, Texas
- Boulder, Colorado
