Best places to live in US: Where 4 Alabama cities rank

Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile all placed in the Top 150
WSFA Meteorologist Tyler Sebree breaks down the newly ranked 'Best Cities to Live' and to no surprise, four cities in Alabama have made the cut!
Published: May. 17, 2023 at 11:47 AM CDT
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Are you considering moving? Are there cities you want to learn more about? A new report will help you look into the details about 150 different cities across the U.S.

The annual “150 Best Places to Live in the U.S.” report was released by U.S. News & World Report early this week. It ranks the 150 most populous metro areas in the U.S. from best to worst.

The top cities to live in the U.S. for 2023-24.
The top cities to live in the U.S. for 2023-24.(U.S. News & World Report)

Topping the list this year is Green Bay, Wisconsin. That means Alabama’s own Huntsville has fallen from its first place pedestal. Don’t worry though, Huntsville only slipped one spot to #2 on the list.

Raleigh and Durham come in at #3, followed by Boulder and Sarasota to round out the top five. Naples, Portland, Charlotte, Colorado Springs, and Fayetteville, Arkansas, finish out the top 10.

The top cities to live in the U.S. for 2023-24.
The top cities to live in the U.S. for 2023-24.(U.S. News & World Report)

Aside from Huntsville, there are three other Alabama cities in the rankings. Birmingham comes in at #80, Montgomery at #94 and Mobile at #115. With the top 150 most populous cities being ranked, that means Birmingham and Montgomery are in the middle of the pack. Mobile, meanwhile, is firmly in the bottom third of the rankings.

To achieve these rankings, U.S. News & World Report looked at a multitude of different variables and parameters.

That includes things like housing affordability, crime rates, quality of education, overall well-being, quality of health care, net migration, weather temperateness, unemployment rate, and average salary.

Florida and North Carolina have the most cities ranked in the top 75 of this year's best...
Florida and North Carolina have the most cities ranked in the top 75 of this year's best places to live in the U.S.(U.S. News & World Report)

The entire list of factors and the weight each of them receives can be found here.

When looking at just the top 75 of the rankings, the states with the most cities present are Florida with 11, North Carolina with six and New York, South Carolina and Ohio each with four.

Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin each have three cities in the top 75 of the rankings.

The highest ranked cities nearest to Alabama include Jacksonville at #16, Knoxville at #21, Pensacola at #28, Savannah at #36, Chattanooga at #48, Tallahassee at #60, Nashville at #61, Atlanta at #64, Augusta at #74, Jackson at #120, Gulfport-Biloxi at #121, and Memphis at #144.

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