(Last UPDATED 5/17/2023) Description of the U.S. News & World Report Best Places Rankings for Best Places to Live and Best Places to Retire. Where does Sacramento rank?
Best Places to Live
2023
U.S. News and World Report once again ran the numbers on 150 metro areas in the U.S. to determine the best places to live. Factors ranked include: quality of life, affordability, and the job market.
The number one place to live in 2023 is Green Bay, Wisconsin. Sacramento lost ground – moving down from #122 to #127.
California cities and their rankings:
- 13 – San Jose
- 45 – San Francisco
- 93 – San Diego
- 124 – Santa Barbara
- 125 – Santa Rosa
- 127 – Sacramento
- 139 – Los Angeles
- 142 – Vallejo/Fairfield
- 143 – Salinas
- 145 – – Modesto
- 146 – Fresno
- 147 – Visalia
- 148 – Stockton
- 149 – Bakersfield
2022
U.S. News and World Report ran the numbers on 150 metro areas in the U.S. to determine the best places to live.
No. 1 on the list is Huntsville, AL, while San Juan, PR brought up the rear at No. 150. Sacramento ranked No. 122 on the Best Places to Live with an overall score of 5.9/10. Included in the overall score is Quality of Life (6.6/10) and Value (4.7).
California cities on the 2022 list:
- 5 – San Jose
- 10 – San Francisco
- 107 – San Diego
- 122 – Sacramento
- 126 – Santa Barbara
- 128 – Los Angeles
- 132 – Santa Rosa
- 141 – Fresno
- 142 – Vallejo & Fairfield
- 144 – Salinas
- 146 – Modesto
- 147 Bakersfield
- 148 – Visalia
- 149 – Stockton
In 2019, Sacramento ranked #82 on the Best Places to Live in the U.S. list out of field of 125 cities (see specifics below).
2019
U.S. News ran the numbers on 125 metro areas in the U.S. to determine the best places to live, evaluating each metro area on: quality of life, job market, value of living there and desirability of living there.
No. 1 on the list was Austin, TX, while San Juan, PR was in last place at No. 125.
SacramentoRevealed.com – All Things Sacramento (from a personal perspective)
Sacramento ranked No. 82 on the Best Places to Live with a 6.3 overall score (out of 10). Included in the overall score is Quality of Life (6.7) and Value (5.2).
California cities on the list:
- 7 – San Francisco
- 14 – San Jose
- 36 – San Diego
- 73 – Santa Barbara
- 74 – Santa Rosa
- 82 – Sacramento
- 107 – Los Angeles
- 117 – Salinas
- 119 – Fresno
- 120 – Modesto
- 123 – Stockton
- 124 – Bakersfield
Best Places to Retire
2022-2023
U.S. News & World Report ran the numbers on the 150 largest metro areas in the U.S. to determine the best places to retire. Criteria included in the ranking included: Happiness of local residents, housing affordability, tax rates and quality of health care.
No. 1 on the list of 150 is Sarasota, FL. Taking last place is San Juan, PR. Sacramento takes the No. 143 spot with an overall ranking of 5.8/10. Sacramento was ranked 5.0 for housing affordability and 6.0 for health care quality.
California cities on the 2022-2023 Best Places to Retire List:
- 118 – Santa Barbara
- 129 – Salinas
- 134 – San Francisco
- 136 – Los Angeles
- 138 – San Diego
- 139 – Santa Rosa
- 142 – Vallejo & Fairfield
- 143 – Sacramento
- 144 – Modesto
- 145 – Fresno
- 146 – San Jose
- 147 – Visalia
- 148 – Stockton
- 149 – Bakersfield
In 2019, Sacramento ranked No. 86 in a field of 100 cities. The ranking for quality of health care improved, but the ranking for housing affordability dropped (no surprise there).
2019
U.S. News ran the numbers on the 100 largest metro areas in the U.S. to determine the best places to retire, evaluating each metro area on: housing affordability, happiness, desirability, retiree taxes, job market and healthcare quality.
No. 1 on the list was Lancaster, PA, while Bakersfield, CA was in last place at No. 100.
Sacramento, ranked No. 86 in Best Places to Retire with an overall score of 6.1 (out of 10). Included in the overall score is Housing Affordability (5.5) and Healthcare (5.9).
California cities on the list:
- 14 – San Diego
- 44 – Santa Rosa
- 49 – Los Angeles
- 51 – San Francisco
- 86 – Sacramento
- 92 – San Jose
- 94 – Fresno
- 98 – Stockton
- 100 – Bakersfield
It will come as no surprise that cost of living plays a large role in the rankings. The following Sacramento specific quotes from the U.S. News says it all:
“Sacramento residents benefit from a desirable income to cost-of-living ratio. The average annual income is higher than the national average (albeit relatively low by California standards). Although the median home sale price in Sacramento is significantly higher than the national median, they’re noticeably lower than those in other major California metro areas – which is one of the factors helping to drive Sacramento’s population growth.”
“Sacramento offers a lower value than similarly sized metro areas when you compare housing costs to median household income.”
See related blog post: Where Does Sacramento Rank?
Comments on the U.S. News & World Report Best Places to Live and Best Places to Retire rankings?
What are your observations?
Subscribe to SacramentoRevealed.com to receive the new and updated blog post newsletter direct to your inbox! Comments are welcome.
Leave a Reply