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 2024-2025 (U.S. News)
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.”
The Best Affordable Places to Live
The 25 Cheapest U.S. Cities to Live In (Kiplinger, 2025)
“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.”
2024 Cities with the Lowest Cost of Living in America (Niche, 2024)
“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 2024-2025 (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 25 Healthiest Communities in America (U.S. News, Aug. 6, 2024)
“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
11 Best Places to Live in the U.S. For Young Adults, According to Real Estate Experts (Travel + Leisure, Jan. 29, 2025)
“In addition to states like North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, and North Dakota, which attract newcomers with their laid-back lifestyles, young people also migrate to larger urban metros like Washington, D.C. and Denver, which are established job hubs. There, they often settle in suburban communities where they can get more bang for their buck without sacrificing proximity to the city and urban amenities.”
10 Best Places to Live for Young Adults 2025 (Money Rates, Jan. 9, 2025)
“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.”
Best Places for Business and Careers
Best Cities for Jobs (2025) (WalletHub, Jan. 7, 2025)
“…WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 31 key indicators of job-market strength. They range from job opportunities per job seeker to employment growth to the monthly average starting salary.”
Best Places to Live as a Self-Employed Business Owner in 2025 (National Association for the Self-Employed, Dec. 20, 2024)
“Choosing an affordable, business-friendly city makes it easier to build a thriving business and enjoy a high quality of life.”
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.
Best Family-Oriented Places to Live
Map Shows Best Places to Raise a Family in 2025 (Newsweek, Dec. 23, 2024)
“The best places to raise a family offer more than just affordable housing—they provide quality education, ample recreational opportunities, and access to child care.”
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 2025 (TimeOut, Jan. 15, 2025)
“Livability was a key factor in our ranking this year. But a great city to live in is, naturally, a great city to visit. So, along with the thousands of responses from locals around the world, we asked Time Out’s global network of city experts to vote on the places they think are particularly exciting right now.”
Best Countries to Live: Quality of Life (U.S. News, 2025)
“Beyond the essential ideas of broad access to food, housing, quality education, health care and employment, quality of life also may include intangibles such as job security, political stability, individual freedom and environmental quality. Through all phases of life, these countries are seen as treating their citizens well.”
Best Places for Retirement
Best and Worst States to Retire (2025) (WalletHub, Jan. 27, 2025)
“To determine the best states to retire, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 46 key indicators of retirement-friendliness, from financial factors like tax rates and the cost of living to things like access to quality medical care and fun activities.”
Best Places to Retire Overseas in 2025 (U.S. News, Jan. 7, 2025)
Older Americans hoping to retire abroad should consider countries that offer retiree-specific residency visas, friendly tax policies and quality health care.
Ambergris Caye, Belize, is a desirable destination, with its English-speaking environment, tropical weather and retiree-friendly tax policies.
Countries like Greece, Portugal and Colombia offer user-friendly residency visas and tax perks for retirees, making them appealing options.
Locations such as Valencia, Spain, and Mazatlán, Mexico, combine affordability, vibrant culture and high-quality amenities.
2025 Best Places to Retire (U.S. News, 2025)
“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.”
Best Places for a Second Home
40 Best Places to Invest in Real Estate (Mashvisor, Aug. 12, 2024)
“…this article will show you which places are worth checking out for both long and short term rental properties in 2024. More than just showing you excellent investment locations, we will also give you a few tips on staying ahead of the real estate investing game.
So if you’re in the market looking for the best place to buy a rental property in 2024, keep reading.“
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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