With living costs on the rise in the U.S., settling down in a major city — where you often need to make around six figures in order to live comfortably — can feel like an unattainable goal for some.
If you prefer city living but care about cutting costs, there is some good news: In the U.S., several mid-sized cities are also highly livable, meaning they’re more affordable than larger, metropolitan areas (since cost of living tends to correlate with population size), but still offer many amenities.
Personal finance website SmartAsset identified the most livable mid-sized cities in the U.S. so far this year by looking at a number of economic factors, including median household income, unemployment rate, average commute time, poverty rate, changes in median home value, median monthly housing costs and level of income inequality. Each city’s rank depends on how far your dollar can go as a resident.
SmartAsset used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 and 2018 1-year American Community Surveys to determine changes in median home value and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 1-year American Community Survey for everything else. To be deemed “mid-sized,” a city must have had a population above 100,000 in 2018, excluding the 100 largest cities in the country. In total, 226 places made the list.
Here is the link to the study by SmartAsset
These are the top 10 most livable mid-sized U.S. cities, according to SmartAsset.
10. Frisco, Texas
9. Overland Park, Kansas
8. Meridian, Idaho
7. Cary, North Carolina
6. Rochester, Minnesota
5. Thornton, Colorado
4. Highlands Ranch, Colorado
3. Westminster, Colorado
2. Centennial, Colorado
1. Arvada, Colorado
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