Rankings like these can vary dramatically depending on what factors are used in the calculations, as different people value different things — safety, weather, affordability, activities, schools and more.
U.S. News rated metro areas based on the following: “Quality of life” 32% (a broad mix of crime, school rankings, health, commuting and more), “Value” 27% (housing affordability and price comparisons), job market 22% (unemployment rate and average salary), and “Desirability” 19% (national survey, plus weather, in-out migration and restaurants/bars).
U.S. News ranked Naples, Florida, the best place to live in America (despite Hurricane Ian damage in 2022), following by Boise, Idaho; Colorado Springs, Colorado; Greenville, South Carolina; and Charlotte, North Carolina.
The highest-scoring city in Ohio was Columbus, which claimed the 61st spot.
Toledo was ranked the 98th best place to live by U.S. News’ criteria, followed shortly thereafter by Cincinnati and Dayton. Youngstown ranked 132nd and Cleveland 141st.
U.S. News & World Report says the Dayton region has many metro parks and miles of paved biking trails and it offers historic neighborhoods and districts, a bike-share program and multiple craft craft breweries and microbreweries.
Dayton has a reasonable cost of living, and median home prices in the metro area are significantly below the national median, the news outlet states. Dayton area residents tend to spend less on living expenses, such as groceries and health care, than residents in many other cities and communities.
Some of the cities ranked near Dayton were Minneapolis and Dallas (No. 94-95), plus Savannah, Georgia (106) and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (109 ... see below).
Separate retirement rankings
Dayton also ranked 95th out of the 150 largest metro areas on U.S. News & World Report’s list of top places to retire.
Other Ohio cities rank significantly higher in this analysis, including Youngstown (#9), Toledo (#19), Cincinnati (#32), Cleveland (#41) and Columbus (#61).
In the retirement rankings, U.S. News rated metro areas based on the following: Affordability 25% (largely measuring housing), “Happiness” 22% (largely crime, health and air quality), Health Care Quality 16% (using U.S. News’ best hospitals ranking), Retiree Taxes 16% (sales and income taxes only), “Desirability” 13% (largely a national survey), and Job Market 8% (unemployment rate and average salary).
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (ranked below Dayton in “best places to live”) was listed as U.S. News’ top place to retire. Amazingly, five small to mid-sized eastern Pennsylvania cities took all of the top five spots in their rankings — Harrisburg, Reading, Lancaster, Scranton and Allentown.
Emphasizing just how subjective rankings like this can be, Niche.com’s list of “best cities to retire in America” had none of those five Pennsylvania cities even in its top 50. Scottsdale, Arizona, and Clearwater, Florida, led Niche’s list, which was based on “number of retirees, weather, and access to healthcare and entertainment.”
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