Last year, Colorado made headlines after three of its cities were ranked among the best places to live in the United States by US News and World Report. Colorado Springs ranked 3rd overall, Boulder ranked 10th, and Fort Collins ranked 39th. This year, however, the rankings of Centennial State spots were vastly different, with no local city cracking the top 150 ‘best places to live’ and all three of the aforementioned spots absent from the greater list of the top 250 places.
Each year, US News and World Report publishes a ranking of the ‘best places to live’ nationwide, focusing on data that fits into five categories – quality of life (quality of education, healthcare, air quality, environmental risks, state economy, state infrastructure), value (housing affordability, cost of living), desirability (crime rates, weather, leisure, commuter index), the job market (unemployment rate, median household income), and net migration. The report gets quite a bit of press, with cities and towns around the nation oft-quick to boast about a good performance.
Admittedly, Coloradans seemed a bit shocked when Colorado Springs finally topped Boulder last year, but they’ll probably be a bit more surprised with this year’s breakdown…