’Best Place to Live’ Is Down South

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Huntsville, Ala., is the best place to live in the United States for 2022, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings. The metro area, about 90 minutes north of Birmingham, offers affordability—the median home list price is $400,000—and strong employment to make it increasingly desirable.

U.S. News & World Report researched 150 of the largest metro areas in the U.S. to identify this year’s best places to live, factoring in metrics like affordability, quality of life, employment, crime, the quality of health care, and more.

"Much of the shakeup we see at the top of this year’s ranking is a result of changing preferences," Devon Thorsby, real estate editor at U.S. News & World Report, told Fox Business. "People moving across the country today are putting more emphasis on affordability and quality of life than on the job market, which in many ways takes a back seat as remote work options have become more standard.”

Huntsville dethroned Boulder, Colo., which topped the list in 2021.

The 12 places that topped U.S. News & World Report’s list as best places to live this year are:

1. Huntsville, Ala.
2. Colorado Springs, Colo.
3. Green Bay, Wis.
4. Boulder, Colo.
5. San Jose, Calif.
6. Raleigh and Durham, N.C.
7. Fayetteville, Ark.
8. Portland, Maine
9. Sarasota, Fla.
10. San Francisco
11. Ann Arbor, Mich.
12. Naples, Fla.

View the full list at U.S. News & World Report.