- Ann Arbor, Mich., lands number one spot in a newly-released list of the top places to live for quality of life
Ann Arbor, Mich., might have far fewer songs to its name than New York, New York—but it appears as if the latter city lags behind when it comes to quality of life.
That’s all according to the latest list of the 25 best places to live from U.S. News & World Report. The outlet’s best cities in 2024–2025 were measured based on information from the Census Bureau, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Labor, and U.S. News's internal database.
Gauging factors like quality of education, commute time, and general affordability, the outlet came up with a list that ended up largely leaving out mainstay cities on the coasts. In fact, the East Coast doesn’t make the top five. At number seven, Portland, Maine, is the highest-ranked city on the East Coast.
The top 10 places to live in the U.S.
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Boulder, Colorado
- Boise, Idaho
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Portland, Maine
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Asheville, North Carolina
Since the pandemic struck, migration patterns have been all out of whack. The newfound ability to work from home and desire for cheaper housing likely further fueled a growing exodus from the cities to exurbs, according to the U.S. Census. Exurbs aren’t quite the suburbs or the city; rather, they’re often just on the skirts of the main metro area.
And the East Coast is losing out when it comes to this migration pattern. “The 500 U.S. cities with the largest percentage increases in population in 2018–2019 and in 2022–2023 were in all four regions,” per the Census’s blog. “But more than four out of five were in the South or West and nearly all were inside a metro or micro area.”
The generally high price tag of living comfortably in the region likely pushes residents to move. Metros on the East Coast, such as New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C., often make the list of the most expensive places to live in the nation.
Plus, richer Americans are also looking south. In search of states with no income tax, wealthy millennials are moving in swaths to Florida and Texas, per a report from SmartAsset.
Florida gained a net 2,175 people ages 26 to 35 earning $200,000 annually and Texas gained 1,909, per 2021 IRS data. Meanwhile, New York and California suffered the largest losses, at net 5,062 and 4,495, respectively. That being said, these two states have the greatest population of young high earners in general.
