NAR Library & Archives has already done the research for you. References (formerly Field Guides) offer links to articles, eBooks, websites, statistics, and more to provide a comprehensive overview of perspectives. EBSCO articles (E) are available only to NAR members and require the member's nar.realtor login.
The Best Places to Live
150 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2023-2024 (U.S. News, Jul. 13, 2021)
This annual ranking by U.S. News includes the 150 best places to live. “To make the top of the list, a place had to have good value, be a desirable place to live, have a strong job market, and a high quality of life.”
America’s Best Places to Live in 2023 (Bankrate, Jan. 24, 2023)
“To identify the best places to live, Bankrate examined the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. through the lens of an essential question: What makes a place livable and lovable? Applying a 10-point scale, we considered several factors, including: What it costs; How it feels; and Who’s moving there; as well as a diversity score.”
The Fifty Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2022-2023 (Money, Sep. 29, 2022)
“Every year since 1987, we’ve combined lots of data with reporting to find 50 or so standout spots for our Best Places to Live project. To create Money’s Best Places to Live ranking for 2023 we considered cities and town with populations of at least 20,000 with no population maximum.”
The Best Affordable Places to Live
The 25 Cheapest U.S. Cities to Live In (Kiplinger, Jan. 26, 2024)
“We compiled our rankings of America's 25 cheapest places to live based on the Council for Community and Economic Research's (C2ER) calculations of living expenses in 265 urban areas. We then limited ourselves to metro areas with at least 50,000 inhabitants. In both cases, C2ER's Cost of Living Index measures prices for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services, such as going to a movie or getting your hair done at a salon.”
2023 Cities with the Lowest Cost of Living in America (Niche, 2023)
“The goal of our Best Places to Live Rankings is to provide accurate, comparable, and thorough evaluations of places. To do so, we've collected and analyzed dozens of rankings factors from federal and local government datasets. We've combined those with proprietary Niche data and community reviews from each area. Read more about where our data comes from. All Niche reviews and data are scored and standardized so that each place is comparable. We then assign each place to a cohort based on population and urban clustering.”
Most Affordable Places to Live in the U.S. in 2023-2024 (
U.S. News)
“To pinpoint the most affordable places on the list, we looked at the proportion of the median annual household income that goes toward the average cost to own or rent a home, including the typical cost of utilities and taxes.”
Best Places to Live for Your Health
The 10 Fittest Cities in the U.S. (U.S. News, Jan. 10, 2024)
“The American College of Sports Medicine’s 2023 American Fitness Index analyzed and ranked the 100 largest cities in the United States to assess a city's overall fitness. The index, based on 34 indicators, considered factors such as fruit and vegetable consumption, exercise habits, overall personal health, and access to parks, playgrounds and recreational centers.These 10 cities had the highest overall scores out of the 100 cities ranked in the 2023 ACSM American Fitness Index.”
Healthiest & Unhealthiest Cities in America (Wallet Hub, Apr. 3, 2023)
“Location matters when it comes to health. Some places promote wellness by expanding access to nutritious food and recreational facilities. Others strive to keep healthcare costs affordable for everyone or keep parks clean and well-maintained…to determine which areas prioritize residents’ well-being, WalletHub compared more than 180 of the most populated U.S. cities across 44 key indicators of good health. Our data set ranges from the cost of a medical visit to fruit and vegetable consumption to COVID-19 cases.”
The 25 Healthiest Communities in America (U.S. News, Jun. 22, 2022)
“Health is inextricably linked to where we live. In fact, it’s been said a person’s ZIP code can predict more about a person’s health than their genetic code.The 2022 Healthiest Communities rankings highlight this important point by analyzing 89 factors that fuel and form the health of residents across nearly 3,000 U.S. counties and county equivalents. Counties are assessed on a 100-point scoring system tied to how they perform relative to one another across 10 health-related categories, ranging from education and the economy to community vitality, equity, infrastructure and public safety. They receive a ranking based on their performance as well. These are the 25 counties out of the 500 ranked that scored the highest overall, making them the Healthiest Communities in the U.S.”
The Best Places to Live for Young Adults
10 Best Places to Live for Young Adults 2024 (Money Rates, Feb. 9, 2024)
“This year, we looked beyond cost of living and affordable rent – though they remain central factors in the study – and considered other things that affect how someone lives, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. With concerns raised by COVID-19, the millennial population may be less drawn to living in a great city than in the past. They may be more interested now in how much work flexibility job opportunities offer. Public transportation may be less appealing today than cost of living. Given how much things have changed, this is a great time to rethink what each state plus the District of Columbia has to offer young professionals looking for opportunity and a decent place to live.”
The 25 Best Places for Young Professionals (U.S. News, Jun. 13, 2023)
“Whether they’re just out of college or several years into the workforce, young professionals are often willing to move to a new place for career opportunities and fresh experiences. To determine the Best Places for Young Professionals, we calculated the weighted average for the 150 most populous metro areas in the U.S. based on their job market, affordability and desirability scores according to data collected for the overall Best Places to Live ranking.”
Best Places for Business and Careers
The Best States for Small Businesses (Business News Daily, Jan. 3, 2024)
“If you have a new small or midsize business (SMB), several key factors can immediately impact its success. One of the most critical decisions a fledgling SMB owner can make is where to set up shop. Location matters – and studies show that location can determine how easily you can get your business off the ground.” This study explores the results of Thumbtack’s annual Small Business Friendliness Survey and compares those to CNBC’s rankings.
2024's Best Cities for Jobs (WalletHub, Jan. 4, 2024)
“With 2023 behind us, it’s time to think about fresh starts, whether that means small changes or a complete life overhaul. For many people, finding a new or better job will be a top resolution. The job market remained strong in 2023, and the unemployment rate is back around pre-pandemic levels…To help you with the job hunt, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 31 key indicators of job-market strength. They range from job opportunites per job seeker to employment growth to monthly average starting salary.”
Best Family-Oriented Places to Live
2024's Best & Worst States to Raise a Family (WalletHub, Jan. 8, 2024)
“Raising a healthy stable family sometimes requires moving to a new state. The reasons people choose to move are often similar: career transitions, better schools, financial challenges or a general desire to changes settings. Wants and needs don’t always align in a particular state, though…To help with the evaluation process, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 51 key indicators of family-friendliness. Our data set ranges from the median annual family income to housing affordability to the unemployment rate.”
The 25 Best Places to Live for Families in the U.S. in 2023-2024 (U.S. News, Aug. 16, 2023)
“Moving to a new part of the country can be a daunting task, especially if you’re moving your entire family. To help you find the right metro area for raising your kids, we started with the Best Places to Live in the U.S. rankings for 2022-2023, then weighted affordability, quality of life and job market equally. These scores combine to make the Best Places to Live for Families, taking into consideration not only the cost of living and average annual salary, but also the quality of high school education, average commute time, crime rate, the area’s overall well-being and access to top-notch health care.”
Best Places to Live Worldwide
The 50 Best Cities in the World in 2024 (TimeOut Magazine, Jan. 23, 2024)
“What makes a city great? Some would say it’s all about buzzing neighbourhoods, affordable food and drink and a mighty selection of things to do, from art galleries and museums to live music and theatre. Others might highlight things like the happiness of its locals, access to green space and strong community vibes. We factor in all that and more in our annual survey, which asks city-dwellers around the world to tell us what it’s like to live, work and play in their hometowns right now. Thanks to the opinions and insights of locals on the ground and our global network of city experts, we’re able to create a global ranking of the world’s best cities – and the 2024 results are in.”
Best Countries to Live: Quality of Life (U.S. News, 2023)
“The 2023 Best Countries rankings, formed in partnership with BAV Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, are based on a study that surveyed more than 17,000 global citizens on 73 different metrics. The Quality of Life subranking is based on an equally weighted average of scores from nine country attributes that relate to quality of life in a country: affordable, a good job market, economically stable, family friendly, income equality, politically stable, safe, well-developed public education system and well-developed public health system.”
Best Places for Retirement
Best Places to Retire in the U.S. in 2022-2023 (U.S. News, Nov. 1, 2022)
“To identify the best places to retire, U.S. News analyzed data for the 150 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. to assess how well they meet Americans' retirement needs and expectations. Top criteria include the happiness of local residents, housing affordability, tax rates and health care quality.”
The Best Places to Retire Overseas in 2023 (U.S. News, Apr. 24, 2023)
“The best place to reinvent your life overseas in retirement depends on your personal preferences and priorities. Some people dream of long walks on the sand, while others would prefer regular nights out at the theater in a thriving city. Here are the most appealing places to call home based on the cost of living versus the quality of life on offer, the cost and quality of health care, the amount of English spoken, options for how to spend your time, the infrastructure, climate, environment, safety and the ease of establishing legal residency, according to the Live and Invest Overseas annual retire overseas index. Consider these overseas retirement spots for 2023.”
Best Places for a Second Home
40 Best Places to Invest in Real Estate (Mashvisor, Dec. 7, 2023)
“Investment properties are a popular way to make money. If you’re looking to buy an investment property in the US, here are 20 of the best places for buying investment properties for long term rentals, based on Mashvisor’s May 2023 location report.”
11 of the Most Affordable States to Own a Vacation Home (Travel + Leisure, Jan. 8, 2023)
“Interest in vacation homes reached a high point during the pandemic. Along with the desire for seclusion, working at home became a reality for millions, in addition to those already able to do their jobs remotely… Affordability encompasses more than just the initial purchase price of the home. Utilities, maintenance, property taxes, and potential income—for those who want to use their second home as an investment—are all considerations in the decision of whether a property is affordable. Meanwhile, “affordability” varies according to income, financial commitments, and stage in life. While prices vary widely by city and location, these are the some of the most affordable states to own a second home.”
25 Best Places for a Second Home in 2023 Based on Your Needs, Lifestyle, and Budget (Pacaso, Jan. 20, 2023)
“Purchasing a single home can be a huge undertaking, but buying a second home ups the ante twofold with expenses and responsibilities. To make sure you get all you hope for out of your second home, it’s important to know what you’re looking for — and where you want to be looking for it. To that end, we’ve compiled 25 of the best places for a second home or vacation home in the U.S. — ordered by their median home prices — to help you find a location that suits your needs, lifestyle and budget.”
eBooks & Other Resources
eBooks.realtor.org
The following eBooks and audiobooks are available to NAR members:
This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live (Audiobook)
Deciding Where to Live: Information Studies on Where to Live in America (eBook)
Making Home (eBook)
Where to Retire (eBook)
Books, Videos, Research Reports & More
As a member benefit, the following resources and more are available for loan through the NAR Library. Items will be mailed directly to you or made available for pickup at the REALTOR® Building in Chicago.
This Is Where You Belong, the Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live (New York, NY: Viking, 2016)
The End of the Suburbs (New York, NY: Portolio/Penguin, 2013)
Have an idea for a real estate topic? Send us your suggestions.
The inclusion of links on this page does not imply endorsement by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR makes no representations about whether the content of any external sites which may be linked in this page complies with state or federal laws or regulations or with applicable NAR policies. These links are provided for your convenience only and you rely on them at your own risk.
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