A new ranking narrowed down the top 25 cities in the country based on quality of life, and D.C. nearly cracked the top 10.
U.S. News & World Report took several factors into consideration when making its annual list. This year, the District ranked 12th.
Devon Thorsby is the real estate editor behind the list. She said the report surveyed people around the country to help rank cities with the best quality of life.
The District’s hospital system and high school ratings made the city a desirable location. She said D.C. high schools ranked 15th out of 150 metro areas for college readiness.
In terms of well-being, D.C. ranked 3rd out of the 150 most populous metro areas.
“There are a couple of spots in the quality of life that Washington doesn’t score particularly well. Everyone knows traffic is notoriously bad in D.C., and the other one is air quality. It ranks in the bottom 50,” she said.
D.C. also ranked 20th for its crime rate, according to FBI data, and came in 38th out of 150 for its low risk of natural disasters.
As for the best place to live for quality of life, Ann Arbor, Michigan, took the top spot.
“When they’re considering different places, we want to make sure we’re providing as much information as possible. This allows people to look at a little bit more than the granular data,” Thorsby said.
U.S. News’ top 25 for best quality of life are:
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Boulder, Colorado
- Madison, Wisconsin
- San Jose, California
- Portland, Maine
- Boston
- Green Bay Wisconsin
- Hartford, Connecticut
- Rochester, New York
- Trenton, New Jersey
- Boise, Idaho
- Washington, D.C.
- Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Worcester, Massachusetts
- Albany, New York
- Naples, Florida
- Syracuse, New York
- Manchester, New Hampshire
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- New Haven, Connecticut
- Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky
- Providence, Rhode Island
- New York City
