Downtown Dayton, OH skyline with Miami River.

UPDATE: Check out our new 2023 Best Cities to Live in the U.S. list.

#5. Dayton OH

There’s so little congestion in Dayton, OH, that if you have a car you can get from one side of the metro area to the other within 30 to 45 minutes. Waze states that commuters only spend an average of 10 extra minutes a day in traffic, while the average amount of hours per year spent sitting bumper-to-bumper is a low 38. The average one-way commute here is only 20 minutes — a whole five minutes shorter than the national average.

Dubbed the Gem City, Dayton really is a gem, and an affordable one at that — Dayton was named to Livability’s Best Affordable Places to Live list in 2015. The city is vibrant and full of outdoor activities, including 60 miles of mountain biking trails and hundreds of miles of hiking trails.

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