The newly released 2018 Best Places to Live report from U.S. News and World Report lists Austin, Texas, as the top place for the second year in a row.
The magazine ranks the top 125 metropolitan areas in the U.S. for the Best Places to Live report, using criteria such as affordability, job prospects, and quality of life. A public survey of thousands of people around the country provides the data for the rankings along with U.S. Census data and FBI and Bureau of Labor Statistics information.
“When deciding on a place to settle down, it’s important to understand that where a person lives can impact their well-being,” U.S. News Executive Editor Kim Castro said. “The top-ranked places are areas where citizens can feel the most fulfilled socially, physically and financially.”
Austin is the capital of Texas and hosts several colleges including one campus of the University of Texas. Live music has earned Austin the title of Live Music Capital of the World and the city has several major music festivals each year, U.S. News points out.
Close to 2 million people live in the Austin metropolitan area, and unemployment is low. Home prices are rising as more people move to the area, but there are no personal or corporate income taxes in the state of Texas which helps keep cost of living reasonable.
Other areas ranked in the report’s top 10 are Colorado Springs and Denver, Colorado; Des Moines, Iowa; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Portland, Oregon; Huntsville, Alabama; Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis, MN; and Seattle, Washington.
“Relocating to a new part of the country is a common occurrence for millennials, who have largely emerged in the professional world ready to move for the right job, regardless of where it takes them,” U.S. News Real Estate Editor Devon Thorsby told CNBC. “As more millennials are starting families and thinking about their careers with a more long-term scope, their choice of where to settle down brings more factors into the mix than before.”
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