Home /  Rankings  / Best Places to Live Complete List

Best Places to Live Complete List

Best Places to Live

Below is the complete list of 2005 Best Places to Live. See the new and fast-growing Emerging Metropolitan Areas or profiles of the top ten.

Rank Metro area
1 Charlottesville, VA
2 Santa Fe, NM
3 San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, CA
4 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, CA
5 Honolulu, HI
6 Ann Arbor, MI
7 Atlanta, GA
8 Asheville, NC
9 Reno, NV
10 Corvallis, OR
11 Roanoke, VA
12 Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA
13 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
14 Bryan-College Station, TX
15 Lynchburg, VA
16 Olympia, WA
17 Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC
18 Colorado Springs, CO
19 Nassau-Suffolk, NY
20 Pueblo, CO
21 Eugene-Springfield, OR
22 Austin-San Marcos, TX
23 Lafayette, IN
24 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI
25 Dover, DE
26 Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV
27 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR
28 Pittsburgh, PA
29 Bloomington, IN
30 Stamford-Norwalk, CT
31 State College, PA
32 Abilene, TX
33 Champaign-Urbana, IL
34 Athens, GA
35 Wichita, KS
36 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
37 Madison, WI
38 Bellingham, WA
39 Las Cruces, NM
40 New York, NY
41 Dayton-Springfield, OH
42 Bloomington-Normal, IL
43 Sarasota-Bradenton, FL
44 Bremerton, WA
45 Albuquerque, NM
46 Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA
47 Evansville-Henderson, IN-KY
48 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
49 Punta Gorda, FL
50 Columbia, SC
51 Peoria-Pekin, IL
52 Des Moines, IA
53 Naples, FL
54 Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
55 Richmond-Petersburg, VA
56 Gainesville, FL
57 Fort Lauderdale, FL
58 Ocala, FL
59 Tacoma, WA
60 Denver, CO
61 Mansfield, OH
62 Grand Junction, CO
63 Charleston-North Charleston, SC
64 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL
65 Orange County, CA
66 Daytona Beach, FL
67 New London-Norwich, CT-RI
68 Boise City, ID
69 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL
70 Tucson, AZ
71 Boston, MA-NH-ME
72 Medford-Ashland, OR
73 Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ
74 San Diego, CA
75 Barnstable-Yarmouth, MA
76 Philadelphia, PA-NJ
77 Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA
78 Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, CA
79 Indianapolis, IN
80 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC
81 Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, NC
82 Jacksonville, FL
83 Wilmington-Newark, DE-MD
84 Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT
85 Sacramento, CA
86 Goldsboro, NC
87 Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN
88 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
89 Greeley, CO
90 Muncie, IN
91 Lexington, KY
92 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
93 San Antonio, TX
94 Columbus, OH
95 Dallas, TX
96 Missoula, MT
97 St. Louis, MO-IL
98 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC
99 Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR
100 Sioux Falls, SD
101 Kokomo, IN
102 Fort Wayne, IN
103 Knoxville, TN
104 Decatur, IL
105 Galveston-Texas City, TX
106 Billings, MT
107 San Francisco, CA
108 Green Bay, WI
109 Memphis, TN-AR-MS
110 Columbus, GA-AL
111 Tuscaloosa, AL
112 Altoona, PA
113 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
114 Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA
115 La Crosse, WI-MN
116 Fresno, CA
117 Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
118 Hamilton-Middletown, OH
119 Springfield, MO
120 Lubbock, TX
121 Corpus Christi, TX
122 Reading, PA
123 Atlantic-Cape May, NJ
124 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
125 Miami, FL
126 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
127 Bangor, ME
128 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
129 Las Vegas, NV-AZ
130 Kansas City, MO-KS
131 Janesville-Beloit, WI
132 South Bend, IN
133 Tulsa, OK
134 Orlando, FL
135 Eau Claire, WI
136 St. Cloud, MN
137 Jamestown, NY
138 Tyler, TX
139 New Orleans, LA
140 Akron, OH
141 Salem, OR
142 Boulder-Longmont, CO
143 Longview-Marshall, TX
144 Rochester, MN
145 Bridgeport, CT
146 Provo-Orem, UT
147 Ventura, CA
148 Duluth-Superior, MN-WI
149 New Haven-Meriden, CT
150 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
151 Nashua, NH
152 Fort Walton Beach, FL
153 Salinas, CA
154 Killeen-Temple, TX
155 Chicago, IL
156 Savannah, GA
157 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI
158 Houston, TX
159 Lawton, OK
160 Anchorage, AK
161 Oklahoma City, OK
162 Lansing-East Lansing, MI
163 Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie, FL
164 Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC
165 Oakland, CA
166 Santa Rosa, CA
167 Louisville, KY-IN
168 San Jose, CA
169 Trenton, NJ
170 Riverside-San Bernardino, CA
171 Brazoria, TX
172 Wilmington, NC
173 Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA
174 Mobile, AL
175 Cumberland, MD-WV
176 Bergen-Passaic, NJ
177 Redding, CA
178 Jackson, MS
179 Baltimore, MD
180 Greenville, NC
181 Danbury, CT
182 Cheyenne, WY
183 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX
184 Hagerstown, MD
185 Casper, WY
186 Lancaster, PA
187 Johnstown, PA
188 Terre Haute, IN
189 Columbia, MO
190 Spokane, WA
191 Iowa City, IA
192 Auburn-Opelika, AL
193 Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH
194 Lawrence, KS
195 Bismarck, ND
196 Springfield, IL
197 Topeka, KS
198 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
199 Sheboygan, WI
200 Yolo, CA
201 Omaha, NE-IA
202 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA
203 Monmouth-Ocean, NJ
204 Yuma, AZ
205 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
206 Nashville, TN
207 Cedar Rapids, IA
208 Wausau, WI
209 Decatur, AL
210 Chattanooga, TN-GA
211 Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA
212 Great Falls, MT
213 St. Joseph, MO
214 Rochester, NY
215 Clarksville-Hopkinsville, TN-KY
216 Williamsport, PA
217 Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV
218 Birmingham, AL
219 Saginaw-Bay City-Midland, MI
220 Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL
221 Sherman-Denison, TX
222 Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ
223 Lincoln, NE
224 Kenosha, WI
225 El Paso, TX
226 Huntsville, AL
227 Waco, TX
228 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
229 Amarillo, TX
230 Lowell, MA-NH
231 Rockford, IL
232 Burlington, VT
233 Charleston, WV
234 Flint, MI
235 Manchester, NH
236 Portland, ME
237 Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI
238 Enid, OK
239 Pensacola, FL
240 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
241 Binghamton, NY
242 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
243 Pittsfield, MA
244 Flagstaff, AZ-UT
245 Jackson, MI
246 Syracuse, NY
247 Monroe, LA
248 Lake Charles, LA
249 Tallahassee, FL
250 Fayetteville, NC
251 Springfield, MA
252 Panama City, FL
253 Hartford, CT
254 Hickory-Morganton, NC
255 Albany, GA
256 Dothan, AL
257 Jonesboro, AR
258 Montgomery, AL
259 Grand Forks, ND-MN
260 York, PA
261 Newark, NJ
262 Jersey City, NJ
263 Detroit, MI
264 Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH
265 Yakima, WA
266 Myrtle Beach, SC
267 Toledo, OH
268 Florence, SC
269 Florence, AL
270 Sioux City, IA-NE
271 Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, PA
272 Elkhart-Goshen, IN
273 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
274 Sumter, SC
275 Gary, IN
276 Lima, OH
277 San Angelo, TX
278 Canton-Massillon, OH
279 Pocatello, ID
280 Brockton, MA
281 Chico-Paradise, CA
282 Bakersfield, CA
283 Odessa-Midland, TX
284 Rapid City, SD
285 Glens Falls, NY
286 Worcester, MA-CT
287 Portsmouth-Rochester, NH-ME
288 Elmira, NY
289 Utica-Rome, NY
290 Victoria, TX
291 Youngstown-Warren, OH
292 Fitchburg-Leominster, MA-NH
293 Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula, MS
294 Wichita Falls, TX
295 Baton Rouge, LA
296 Texarkana-Texarkana, TX-AR
297 Lafayette, LA
298 Danville, VA
299 Benton Harbor, MI
300 Hattiesburg, MS
301 Rocky Mount, NC
302 Macon, GA
303 Owensboro, KY
304 Jackson, TN
305 Wheeling, WV-OH
306 Joplin, MO
307 Racine, WI
308 Sharon, PA
309 Erie, PA
310 Dutchess County, NY
311 Dubuque, IA
312 Waterbury, CT
313 Lewiston-Auburn, ME
314 Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX
315 Yuba City, CA
316 Modesto, CA
317 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
318 Jacksonville, NC
319 New Bedford, MA
320 Houma, LA
321 Alexandria, LA
322 Fort Smith, AR-OK
323 Anniston, AL
324 Gadsden, AL
325 Pine Bluff, AR
326 Lawrence, MA-NH
327 Kankakee, IL
328 Merced, CA
329 Newburgh, NY-PA
330 Stockton-Lodi, CA
331 Laredo, TX