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Bayo RoadLos Alamos, NM, #1 overall · Bayo Road · Photo: Clyde Charles Brown · CC BY-SA 4.0
United States · 2026

How America’s towns stack up

Every list ranks the same graded towns: the top 100 of 10,000+ residents nationally, and every town of 2,500+ on its state’s lists. Los Alamos, New Mexico leads the overall list.

Letters are national; lists sort on the same grades every town page shows. How grades work

#1Highlands, NY safest#1Wabash, IN most affordable#1Chatham, NJ healthiest (tied)#1Beverly Hills, MI jobs & income (tied)#1Concord, MA outdoors (tied)
The best places to live in AmericaOne grade from cost of living, safety, schools, health, jobs, walkability and hazard risk: the top 100 of 5,167.
See the listFind your own match
Champions

Millburn Township makes the national top 10 on two lists

Top-10 finishes on the 13 national lists where first is plainly best (not climate, snow or growth).

1
New JerseyMillburn Township
  • #1healthiest
  • #1highest income
2
MassachusettsConcord
  • #1outdoors
  • #3most-used library
3
ConnecticutNew Canaan
  • #1highest income
  • #5most-used library
4Darien, CT
  • #1highest income
  • #6healthiest
5Groton, MA
  • #1outdoors
  • #8best place to live
6Broadview Heights, OH
  • #6best place to live
  • #7safest
7Russellville, AL
  • #8lowest property tax
  • #9most affordable
Every list

20 ways to rank America’s towns

Towns and cities of 10,000+ residents, grouped by what they measure. Schools are graded within each state, so their lists are state by state.

The overall grade

Best places to live
  1. Los Alamos, NMA+
  2. Bay Village, OHA+
  3. St. John, INA+
Top 100 of 5,167 →Best big cities to live in
  1. Fishers, INA+
  2. Naperville, ILA+
  3. Highlands Ranch, COA+
All 393 big cities →

Livability

Most affordable towns
  1. Wabash, INA+
  2. Pipe Creek Township, INA+
  3. Noble Township, INA+
Top 100 of 5,235 →Safest towns
  1. Highlands, NY0.00 per 1kA+
  2. Lewisboro, NY0.22 per 1kA+
  3. North Union Township, PA0.24 per 1kA+
Top 100 of 3,410 →Healthiest towns
  1. Chatham, NJA+
  2. Mercer Island, WAA+
  3. Millburn Township, NJA+
Top 100 of 5,218 →Best towns for jobs & income
  1. Beverly Hills, MIA+
  2. New Albany, OHA+
  3. Plain Township, OHA+
Top 100 of 5,234 →Most walkable towns
  1. Berkeley, CAA+
  2. Cambridge, MAA+
  3. Edgewater, NJA+
Top 100 of 5,235 →Towns with the lowest natural-hazard risk
  1. Greensburg, PAA+
  2. Richland Township, PAA+
  3. State College, PAA+
Top 100 of 5,239 →

Income & taxes

Towns with the highest incomes
  1. Alamo, CA$250,000+
  2. Darien, CT$250,000+
  3. Great Falls, VA$250,000+
Top 100 of 5,234 →Towns with the lowest property taxes
  1. Abbeville, LA$199/yr
  2. Opelousas, LA$199/yr
  3. Nanakuli, HI$369/yr
Top 100 of 4,851 →

Character

Best towns for the outdoors
  1. Concord, MAA+
  2. Groton, MAA+
  3. Haverstraw, NYA+
Top 100 of 5,239 →Most historic towns
  1. Newport, RIA+
  2. St. Louis, MOA+
  3. Columbia, PAA+
Top 100 of 5,235 →Towns with the most civic life
  1. Ashland, ORA+
  2. Marquette, MIA+
  3. Decatur, GAA+
Top 100 of 4,438 →Towns with the most-used libraries
  1. Princeton, NJ22.4 visits
  2. North Miami Beach, FL20.3 visits
  3. Concord, MA19.5 visits
Top 100 of 1,438 →Fastest-growing towns
  1. Fulshear, TX+297.3%
  2. Celina, TX+276.8%
  3. Princeton, TX+156.1%
Top 100 of 4,365 →

Climate

Towns with the least snow
  1. Brandon, MS1 in
  2. Byram, MS1 in
  3. Canby, OR1 in
Top 100 of 3,746 →Snowiest towns
  1. Edwards, CO189 in
  2. Steamboat Springs, CO184 in
  3. Truckee, CA183 in
Top 100 of 3,746 →Towns with the mildest winters
  1. Kailua, HI69°
  2. Kaiminani, HI69°
  3. Kaneohe Base, HI68°
Top 100 of 5,040 →Towns with the hottest summers
  1. Fort Mohave, AZ110°
  2. Bullhead City, AZ110°
  3. Blythe, CA109°
Top 100 of 5,040 →Towns with the coolest summers
  1. Juneau, AK63°
  2. Eureka, CA63°
  3. Arroyo Grande, CA65°
Top 100 of 5,040 →
Method

How the rankings work

  • 10,000+ residents nationally. Each national list shows its top 100; state lists go down to 2,500 residents.
  • One grade everywhere. A town’s letter is the same on every list and on its own page; lists sort on the unrounded score.
  • Schools stay in-state. Each state writes its own tests, so the schools list compares towns within a state only.
  • Described lists carry no letters. Climate, snow, income, taxes, growth and libraries are figures, not grades.
  • Campuses sit out the overall list. 20 places where over half the residents are college students are left off it. How grades work
State by state

Rankings in each state

Every town of 2,500+ with its state rank on each list, schools included.

Alabama#1 Eagle PointAlaska#1 PetersburgArizona#1 St. JohnsArkansas#1 SalemCalifornia#1 San MiguelColorado#1 Holly HillsConnecticut#1 MonroeDelaware#1 TownsendFlorida#1 BagdadGeorgia#1 TyroneHawaii#1 Urban HonoluluIdaho#1 MeridianIllinois#1 Clarendon HillsIndiana#1 St. JohnIowa#1 Orange CityKansas#1 Morton TownshipKentucky#1 EdgewoodLouisiana#1 JenaMaine#1 CumberlandMaryland#1 DamascusMassachusetts#1 WenhamMichigan#1 BerkleyMinnesota#1 ChatfieldMississippi#1 BridgetownMissouri#1 GlendaleMontana#1 Four CornersNebraska#1 AshlandNevada#1 ElyNew Hampshire#1 HollisNew Jersey#1 OradellNew Mexico#1 Los AlamosNew York#1 BrookvilleNorth Carolina#1 RolesvilleNorth Dakota#1 LincolnOhio#1 MinsterOklahoma#1 PiedmontOregon#1 BethanyPennsylvania#1 YoungwoodRhode Island#1 East GreenwichSouth Carolina#1 Tega CaySouth Dakota#1 BrandonTennessee#1 NolensvilleTexas#1 Iowa ParkUtah#1 MillvilleVermont#1 NorwichVirginia#1 LexingtonWashington#1 SammamishWest Virginia#1 Cheat LakeWisconsin#1 Mount HorebWyoming#1 Jackson