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2015 Top 100 Best Places to Live: Ranking data

NEW: See our Updated 2017 Ranking of the Best Places to Live!

 As Livability’s editors and writers crisscross the U.S in search of great stories, we find that time and again, the best tales are told in the Main Street diners, corner churches, park benches and even the mayor’s offices of small to mid-sized cites and towns. Far from letting time pass them by, these communities are doubling down on livability for their residents. Our second-annual ranking of the Top 100 Best Places to Live celebrates the work they are doing. As with our Top 100 Best Place to Live 2014 ranking, we worked with globally-known partners to analyze the best public and private data sources. We were advised by the leading thinkers, writers and doers in the place-making space. Some new places make the list, some move up or down and some continue to score well, no matter what the metric. More than 2,000 cities were ranked, so every city on this list is in the top 5 percent of livable communities in the U.S. Spend some time getting to know them, and when it comes time for your next move, maybe you'll think small.

City LivScore Amenities Civic Demo. Econ Educat. Health Housing Infrast.
Madison 705 77 65 59 61 77 78 83 65
Rochester 685 70 70 58 65 77 77 75 56
Arlington 680 76 72 73 44 88 64 60 64
Boulder 679 73 71 44 44 89 77 74 69
Palo Alto 679 86 78 73 30 70 70 62 71
Berkeley 672 78 66 81 33 78 74 51 74
Santa Clara 671 82 51 71 49 72 71 69 70
Missoula 668 69 66 46 66 64 83 77 64
Boise 665 81 62 59 56 77 72 68 55
Iowa City 665 57 73 40 59 73 84 81 64
Bozeman 664 65 82 33 62 81 81 65 62
Asheville 663 74 54 73 56 79 71 71 51
Ann Arbor 662 72 74 51 41 70 71 71 79
Bellevue 660 89 65 82 40 71 65 52 62
San Mateo 660 83 63 76 49 54 66 65 70
Santa Barbara 656 92 59 68 43 73 74 49 64
Overland Park 655 69 77 54 58 89 73 62 40
Salt Lake City 655 81 42 69 52 71 67 71 70
Rockville 655 73 80 73 55 55 64 65 59
Eugene 654 85 62 52 49 70 70 76 59
Pasadena 651 87 40 79 44 75 61 63 69
Fargo 651 62 61 58 64 69 69 86 51
Ventura 650 86 57 55 56 73 65 71 57
Fort Collins 647 83 68 49 55 82 52 72 57
Sunnyvale 645 80 64 77 46 62 53 66 67
Mountain View 645 75 72 76 49 43 61 67 73
St. Louis Park 645 57 62 61 67 74 62 74 59
Santa Monica 644 85 56 61 46 85 61 55 65
Durham 644 78 51 80 51 73 57 68 56
Ames 639 52 78 29 58 74 76 81 63
San Rafael 638 83 51 64 44 52 77 68 69
Frederick 637 65 61 71 66 70 45 74 58
Greenville 637 75 56 79 50 76 54 70 49
Lakewood 636 80 55 65 52 74 63 66 53
Provo 636 69 63 41 46 79 70 70 69
Sandy Springs 635 74 61 88 50 83 50 56 43
Lincoln 634 70 46 57 67 72 65 82 49
Miami Beach 634 89 37 73 48 75 61 47 76
Quincy 634 63 55 69 54 67 71 63 64
Cambridge 633 70 59 60 45 79 70 50 70
Sioux Falls 633 69 57 61 69 74 57 78 43
Tempe 632 80 41 63 54 79 64 56 67
Portland 632 54 55 44 57 75 86 53 78
Alameda 632 68 56 72 44 74 61 59 69
Renton 632 67 34 80 73 51 67 76 58
Towson 632 66 69 65 35 85 51 67 65
Bellingham 631 74 60 52 47 68 75 63 64
Beaverton 631 74 57 62 63 66 56 70 58
Fullerton 631 78 42 78 47 73 63 62 60
Columbia 631 68 65 54 55 74 70 72 47
Irvine 630 91 68 68 33 91 53 43 55
Bismarck 630 63 69 64 68 62 57 76 45
Helena 630 51 85 50 62 56 65 74 61
Reno 629 85 43 70 45 79 63 57 58
Olympia 629 66 70 60 53 51 58 77 68
Santa Cruz 629 79 65 48 42 53 78 62 75
West Des Moines 629 58 69 67 65 69 62 71 40
Honolulu 628 87 24 71 45 81 66 57 69
Eau Claire 628 56 67 43 71 61 75 82 49
Ashland 627 69 79 39 50 61 67 66 70
Monterey 626 83 68 72 39 62 60 49 66
North Bethesda 624 57 79 84 52 43 66 60 58
Chapel Hill 624 60 76 57 35 75 70 65 59
Alexandria 624 67 68 73 54 43 60 72 61
Cedar Rapids 623 66 67 50 67 72 60 72 46
Lexington 623 76 60 68 42 83 58 65 44
White Plains 622 66 67 70 40 60 65 60 68
Costa Mesa 622 79 42 57 58 73 70 52 66
Corvallis 621 52 80 35 47 70 77 72 63
Manhattan 621 51 73 45 57 76 70 70 54
Tampa 620 86 31 80 41 76 56 59 64
Silver Spring 620 58 52 75 61 48 61 79 62
Westminster 619 81 59 56 72 69 57 57 46
Kirkland 619 75 63 63 49 63 68 53 61
Lawrence 619 68 66 36 62 72 64 72 56
Bend 618 81 64 53 53 74 69 50 49
Redmond 618 69 64 70 50 62 66 53 60
Santa Rosa 618 86 50 63 49 44 76 65 60
Goleta 617 75 73 69 62 37 67 55 56
Knoxville 617 78 47 61 47 77 63 75 43
Stamford 617 80 52 82 34 52 61 62 68
Des Moines 614 68 30 62 68 58 71 71 63
Fayetteville 614 71 66 55 51 76 65 60 47
Springfield 613 74 46 54 48 72 72 73 50
Denton 613 68 57 71 57 63 49 71 55
Orlando 612 78 26 85 58 71 59 50 60
Menlo Park 612 68 79 71 29 52 67 52 70
Salem 611 81 44 54 54 64 60 76 55
Burbank 610 77 44 65 53 57 63 66 62
Hayward 610 74 24 77 51 56 72 64 68
Greensboro 609 75 44 79 52 75 52 68 41
Charleston 609 78 60 76 41 69 58 56 48
Richardson 609 70 59 82 54 80 28 60 54
Tysons Corner 608 48 79 81 52 64 49 54 58
Grand Rapids 607 67 34 64 54 70 65 58 72
Framingham 607 62 49 68 57 62 66 71 50
La Crosse 607 50 62 39 58 53 86 71 66
Billings 606 69 55 55 66 55 58 79 50
Brookline 606 65 80 65 30 71 70 38 63
Coral Gables 606 87 62 75 31 68 51 49 59