References
NAR Library & Archives has already done the research for you. References (formerly Field Guides) offer links to articles, eBooks, websites, statistics, and more to provide a comprehensive overview of perspectives. EBSCO articles (E) are available only to NAR members and require the member's nar.realtor login.
The Best Places to Live
America’s Best Places to Live in 2023 (Bankrate, Jan. 24, 2023)
“To identify the best places to live, Bankrate examined the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. through the lens of an essential question: What makes a place livable and lovable? Applying a 10-point scale, we considered several factors, including: What it costs; How it feels; and Who’s moving there; as well as a diversity score.”
The Fifty Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2022-2023 (Money, Sep. 29, 2022)
“Every year since 1987, we’ve combined lots of data with reporting to find 50 or so standout spots for our Best Places to Live project. To create Money’s Best Places to Live ranking for 2023 we considered cities and town with populations of at least 20,000 with no population maximum.”
150 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2021-22 (U.S. News, Jul. 13, 2021)
This annual ranking by U.S. News includes the 150 best places to live. “To make the top of the list, a place had to have good value, be a desirable place to live, have a strong job market, and a high quality of life.”
The Best Affordable Places to Live
The 25 Cheapest U.S. Cities to Live In (Kiplinger, Feb. 12, 2023)
“We compiled our rankings of America's 25 cheapest places to live based on the Council for Community and Economic Research's (C2ER) calculations of living expenses in 265 urban areas. We then limited ourselves to metro areas with at least 50,000 inhabitants. In both cases, C2ER's Cost of Living Index measures prices for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services, such as going to a movie or getting your hair done at a salon.”
2022 Cities with the Lowest Cost of Living in America (Niche, 2022)
“The goal of our Best Places to Live Rankings is to provide accurate, comparable, and thorough evaluations of places. To do so, we've collected and analyzed dozens of rankings factors from federal and local government datasets. We've combined those with proprietary Niche data and community reviews from each area. Read more about where our data comes from. All Niche reviews and data are scored and standardized so that each place is comparable. We then assign each place to a cohort based on population and urban clustering.”
US Cities with the Lowest Cost of Living (Move.org, Sep. 30, 2021)
“To help you budget effectively or find an affordable new town to call home, we looked at the US’s 74 most populous cities and ranked them based on how high their monthly living costs are. We also checked each city’s median income to give you an idea of what you might make if you lived there.”
Most Affordable Places to Live in the U.S. in 2022-2023 (U.S. News)
“Based on a survey of more than 3,600 U.S. residents on the importance of various factors in determining where to live, U.S. News weighted value at 23.74% – making it one of the key metrics used to calculate the Best Places to Live ranking. To pinpoint the most affordable places on the list, we looked at the proportion of the median annual household income that goes toward the average cost to own or rent a home, including the typical cost of utilities and taxes.”
Best Places to Live for Your Health
The 25 Healthiest Communities in America (U.S. News, Jun. 22, 2022)
“Health is inextricably linked to where we live. In fact, it’s been said a person’s ZIP code can predict more about a person’s health than their genetic code.The 2022 Healthiest Communities rankings highlight this important point by analyzing 89 factors that fuel and form the health of residents across nearly 3,000 U.S. counties and county equivalents. Counties are assessed on a 100-point scoring system tied to how they perform relative to one another across 10 health-related categories, ranging from education and the economy to community vitality, equity, infrastructure and public safety. They receive a ranking based on their performance as well. These are the 25 counties out of the 500 ranked that scored the highest overall, making them the Healthiest Communities in the U.S.”
Healthiest & Unhealthiest Cities in America (Wallet Hub, Apr. 4, 2022)
“Location matters when it comes to health. Some places promote wellness by expanding access to nutritious food and recreational facilities. Others strive to keep healthcare costs affordable for everyone or keep parks clean and well-maintained…to determine which areas prioritize residents’ well-being, WalletHub compared more than 180 of the most populated U.S. cities across 44 key indicators of good health. Our data set ranges from the cost of a medical visit to fruit and vegetable consumption to COVID-19 cases.”
The Best Places to Live for Young Adults
10 Best Places to Live for Young Adults 2023 (Money Rates, Dec. 21, 2022)
“This year, we looked beyond cost of living and affordable rent – though they remain central factors in the study – and considered other things that affect how someone lives, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. With concerns raised by COVID-19, the millennial population may be less drawn to living in a great city than in the past. They may be more interested now in how much work flexibility job opportunities offer. Public transportation may be less appealing today than cost of living. Given how much things have changed, this is a great time to rethink what each state plus the District of Columbia has to offer young professionals looking for opportunity and a decent place to live.”
The 25 Best Places for Young Professionals (U.S. News, Jun. 2, 2022)
“Whether they’re just out of college or several years into the workforce, young professionals are often willing to move to a new place for career opportunities and fresh experiences. To determine the Best Places for Young Professionals, we calculated the weighted average for the 150 most populous metro areas in the U.S. based on their job market, affordability and desirability scores according to data collected for the overall Best Places to Live ranking.”
Best Places for Business and Careers
The Best States for Small Businesses in 2022 (Business News Daily, Feb. 21, 2023)
A report on Thumbtack’s annual “Small Business Friendliness Survey” which “polled more than 5,000 SMB owners throughout the country to determine how easy or difficult it was to start a small business in their home states and cities.”
2023's Best Cities for Jobs (WalletHub, Jan. 4, 2023)
“With 2022 behind us, it’s time to think about fresh starts, whether that means small changes or a complete life overhaul. The jobs market made quite a bit of recovery in 2022 after it took a major hit during the COVID-19 pandemic…Ultimately, your luck of finding work depends largely on location. To help you with the job hunt, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 31 key indicators of job-market strength. They range from job opportunites to employment growth to monthly average starting salary.”
Best Family-Oriented Places to Live
2023's Best & Worst States to Raise a Family (WalletHub, Jan. 9, 2023)
“Raising a healthy stable family sometimes requires moving to a new state. The reasons people choose to move are often similar: career transitions, better schools, financial challenges or a general desire to changes settings. Wants and needs don’t always align in a particular state, though…To help with the evaluation process, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 51 key indicators of family-friendliness. Our data set ranges from the median annual family income to housing affordability to the unemployment rate.”
The 25 Best Places to Live for Families in the U.S. in 2021-2022 (U.S. News, May 19, 2022)
“Moving to a new part of the country can be a daunting task, especially if you’re moving your entire family. To help you find the right metro area for raising your kids, we started with the Best Places to Live in the U.S. rankings for 2022-2023, then weighted affordability, quality of life and job market equally. These scores combine to make the Best Places to Live for Families, taking into consideration not only the cost of living and average annual salary, but also the quality of high school education, average commute time, crime rate, the area’s overall well-being and access to top-notch health care.”
Best Places to Live Worldwide
The 53 Best Cities in the World in 2021 (TimeOut Magazine, Jul. 11, 2022)
“Every year, we quiz thousands of city-dwellers worldwide about life in their hometown right now. We want to know about the restaurant scene and the bar circuit. The theatre and the art galleries. The nightlife and the dating apps. What the neighbours are like and which neighbourhoods are actually cool. The idea is to create a global snapshot of city living, and point people in the direction of the places locals are really raving about. And now... the results of the Time Out Index 2022 are in! As ever, we’ve crunched all that data and used it to come up with our annual ranking of the world’s greatest cities.”
Best Countries to Live: Quality of Life (U.S. News, 2022)
“The 2022 Best Countries rankings, formed in partnership with BAV Group and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, are based on a study that surveyed more than 17,000 global citizens on 73 different metrics. The Quality of Life subranking is based on an equally weighted average of scores from nine country attributes that relate to quality of life in a country: affordable, a good job market, economically stable, family friendly, income equality, politically stable, safe, well-developed public education system and well-developed public health system.”
Best Places for Retirement
The Best Places to Retire Overseas in 2023 (U.S. News, Feb. 4, 2022)“The best place to reinvent your life overseas in retirement depends on your personal preferences and priorities. Some people dream of long walks on the sand, while others would prefer regular nights out at the theater in a thriving city. Here are the most appealing places to call home based on the cost of living versus the quality of life on offer, the cost and quality of health care, the amount of English spoken, options for how to spend your time, the infrastructure, climate, environment, safety and the ease of establishing legal residency, according to the Live and Invest Overseas annual retire overseas index. Consider these overseas retirement spots for 2023.”
The 10 Best Places to Retire in the U.S. in 2022 (Money, Dec 2, 2021)
“Retirement looks different for everyone. Maybe your dream is lounging by the beach or boating over crystal blue waters. Or maybe it's exploring the great outdoors or taking in museums, live music and theater. Perhaps you don't plan to "retire" at all, but instead start a new business after your main career ends. No matter what your vision looks like, there’s a place to bring it to life, and our 2021 Best Places to Retire list can help you home in on that location. We looked at nearly 100 different metrics (for a total of over 150,000 unique data points) to determine the top 10 most desirable places to retire in the U.S. Home prices, weather and access to health care factored in, as did local amenities and facilities. The result is a wide-ranging list of towns that spans all the way from New Hampshire to Texas to Idaho.”
Best Places to Retire in the U.S. in 2022-2023 (U.S. News, Nov. 1, 2022)
“To identify the best places to retire, U.S. News analyzed data for the 150 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. to assess how well they meet Americans' retirement needs and expectations. Top criteria include the happiness of local residents, housing affordability, tax rates and health care quality.”
Best Places for a Second Home
25 Best Places for a Second Home in 2023 Based on Your Needs, Lifestyle, and Budget (Pacaso, Jan. 20, 2023)
“Purchasing a single home can be a huge undertaking, but buying a second home ups the ante twofold with expenses and responsibilities. To make sure you get all you hope for out of your second home, it’s important to know what you’re looking for — and where you want to be looking for it. To that end, we’ve compiled 25 of the best places for a second home or vacation home in the U.S. — ordered by their median home prices — to help you find a location that suits your needs, lifestyle and budget.”
40 Best Places for Buying Investment Property in 2023 (Mashvisor, Dec. 13, 2022)
“Investment properties are a popular way to make money. If you’re looking to buy an investment property in the US, here are 20 of the best places for buying investment properties for long term rentals, based on Mashvisor’s December 2022 location report.”
The Most Popular Places in the U.S. to Buy a Second Home (Travel and Leisure, Dec. 19, 2022)
“The country's housing market is in a downturn as interest rates have skyrocketed and inflation has risen to record levels. However, the demand for luxury second homes is still thriving, according to Pacaso's latest report on the top vacation home destinations in the country for 2022. Using mortgage rate lock data and average second-home prices by real estate analytics firm Optimal Blue, the fractional real estate company ranked this year's most sought-after spots that saw significant annual gains for homes priced above $1 million. And while an oceanfront county in Florida topped last year's report, this time around, it's endless mountain views that won buyers over.”
eBooks & Other Resources
eBooks.realtor.org
The following eBooks and audiobooks are available to NAR members:
This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live (Audiobook)
Deciding Where to Live: Information Studies on Where to Live in America (eBook)
Making Home (eBook)
Where to Retire (eBook)
Books, Videos, Research Reports & More
As a member benefit, the following resources and more are available for loan through the NAR Library. Items will be mailed directly to you or made available for pickup at the REALTOR® Building in Chicago.
This Is Where You Belong, the Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live (New York, NY: Viking, 2016)
The End of the Suburbs (New York, NY: Portolio/Penguin, 2013)
Have an idea for a real estate topic? Send us your suggestions.
The inclusion of links on this page does not imply endorsement by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR makes no representations about whether the content of any external sites which may be linked in this page complies with state or federal laws or regulations or with applicable NAR policies. These links are provided for your convenience only and you rely on them at your own risk.