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Best places to live in the US (2026)

We scored 1,144 US cities, suburbs and towns on public data. These are the 50 with the best all-round scores.

Ranked by an all-round score: the average of all 14 quality scores (housing costs, taxes, jobs, healthcare, education, family life, safety, natural disasters, climate and more), weighted equally. Places missing from the FBI crime table are left out, since their safety is unknown. Scores are out of 100.

  1. 1Arvada, COSuburb · 3-bed $561k · safe80
  2. 2Encinitas, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.76M · very safe79
  3. 3Cupertino, CASuburb · 3-bed $2.69M · very safe79
  4. 4Danville, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.29M · very safe79
  5. 5Parker, COSuburb · 3-bed $595k · very safe78
  6. 6Broomfield, COSuburb · 3-bed $557k · very safe78
  7. 7Daly City, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.14M · very safe77
  8. 8Mission Viejo, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.14M · very safe77
  9. 9San Ramon, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.20M · very safe77
  10. 10Littleton, COSuburb · 3-bed $576k · very safe77
  11. 11Aliso Viejo, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.02M · very safe77
  12. 12Thornton, COSuburb · 3-bed $467k · safe76
  13. 13Westminster, COSuburb · 3-bed $496k · safe76
  14. 14Novi, MISuburb · 3-bed $411k · very safe76
  15. 15Santa Clara, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.67M · safe76
  16. 16Palo Alto, CASuburb · 3-bed $3.28M · very safe76
  17. 17Sammamish, WASuburb · 3-bed $1.16M · very safe76
  18. 18Bountiful, UTSuburb · 3-bed $490k · very safe76
  19. 19South San Francisco, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.22M · very safe76
  20. 20Sunnyvale, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.85M · very safe76
  21. 21Saratoga Springs, UTSuburb · 3-bed $448k · very safe76
  22. 22Mountain View, CASuburb · 3-bed $2.07M · safe76
  23. 23Milpitas, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.30M · very safe75
  24. 24Lake Forest, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.08M · very safe75
  25. 25Newark, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.10M · very safe75
  26. 26Castle Rock, COSuburb · 3-bed $579k · very safe75
  27. 27Fountain Valley, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.24M · very safe75
  28. 28Redwood City, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.92M · very safe75
  29. 29Farmington Hills, MISuburb · 3-bed $349k · very safe75
  30. 30Newport Beach, CASuburb · 3-bed $3.14M · very safe75
  31. 31San Bruno, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.38M · safe75
  32. 32Poway, CASuburb · 3-bed $991k · very safe75
  33. 33Newton, MASuburb · 3-bed $1.27M · very safe75
  34. 34Bothell, WASuburb · 3-bed $834k · very safe75
  35. 35Gilbert, AZBig city · 3-bed $472k · very safe74
  36. 36Livonia, MISuburb · 3-bed $307k · very safe74
  37. 37Laguna Niguel, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.37M · very safe74
  38. 38Redmond, WASuburb · 3-bed $1.15M · very safe74
  39. 39Burbank, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.24M · very safe74
  40. 40Skokie, ILSuburb · 3-bed $442k · safe74
  41. 41Chandler, AZBig city · 3-bed $469k · very safe74
  42. 42Rancho Santa Margarita, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.03M · very safe74
  43. 43Pleasanton, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.29M · very safe74
  44. 44Shoreline, WASuburb · 3-bed $747k · very safe74
  45. 45Marietta, GASuburb · 3-bed $382k · moderate crime74
  46. 46Draper, UTSuburb · 3-bed $579k · very safe73
  47. 47Fremont, CAMid-size city · 3-bed $1.34M · very safe73
  48. 48South Jordan, UTSuburb · 3-bed $572k · very safe73
  49. 49Rancho Palos Verdes, CASuburb · 3-bed $1.53M · very safe73
  50. 50Evanston, ILSuburb · 3-bed $542k · very safe73

Best places to live by state

Alaska3 places rankedArizona24 places rankedArkansas9 places rankedCalifornia200 places rankedColorado19 places rankedConnecticut16 places rankedFlorida73 places rankedGeorgia9 places rankedIdaho9 places rankedIllinois40 places rankedIndiana17 places rankedIowa11 places rankedKansas6 places rankedKentucky5 places rankedLouisiana9 places rankedMaryland5 places rankedMassachusetts38 places rankedMichigan31 places rankedMinnesota23 places rankedMississippi5 places rankedMissouri14 places rankedNebraska4 places rankedNevada5 places rankedNew Hampshire5 places rankedNew Jersey25 places rankedNew Mexico5 places rankedNew York23 places rankedNorth Carolina22 places rankedNorth Dakota4 places rankedOhio31 places rankedOklahoma10 places rankedOregon13 places rankedPennsylvania7 places rankedRhode Island7 places rankedSouth Carolina9 places rankedTennessee22 places rankedTexas77 places rankedUtah17 places rankedVirginia17 places rankedWashington28 places rankedWisconsin18 places rankedWyoming3 places ranked

Best places to live · Cheapest places to live · Safest places to live · Safest places from natural disasters · Best places to live for families

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Data: US Census, Zillow, HUD, BEA, FBI 2019, FEMA, NOAA, NASA, CMS, NCES and others. How scores work.