15 Most Livable Small and Midsize U.S. Cities

Americans gravitate to smaller cities for a variety of reasons: an improved prospect of owning a home, a desire to spend less time in traffic, a better quality of life. The list goes on. Livability.com, which specializes in small and midsize cities, recently published its annual list of the 100 best places to live in the United States, based on about 100 data points and an algorithm that takes into account measures of each city's economy, housing and cost of living, amenities, transportation, environment, safety, education and health. In compiling the list, Livability, in partnership with Applied Geographic Solutions, included only those cities with populations between 75,000 and 500,000. Researchers also focused on affordability, considering cities with a median home value of $500,000 or less. In addition, they analyzed average rent and home prices relative to income in each city, as well as other factors that influence the cost of living. The 100 cities that made it onto the 2024 list represent the top 5% of U.S. cities with populations in the studied range. An interactive feature allows users to sort and filter according to the criteria most important to them. See the accompanying gallery for the 15 most livable cities, including how each one scores on a 100-point scale in several categories.