Cities. Ranking the best can feel like plucking the tastiest dessert recipe from every kitchen worldwide. Each one takes its flavor from different ingredients, conditions in the kitchen, and traditions, so thereโs value in sampling a great many. However, choosing a city requires a more serious process a subjective dessert preference. So, we pored through some data this spring hoping to help Worth readers think about the places where your personal, home, and business values, can flourish in the turbulent years ahead. We invite you to sample what we found.
The Worth Top 10 measures citiesโ home affordability and job growth over the past year. It checks how clean the air tends to be and how safe the public realm tends to feel. It starts to ask how likely someone is to thrive over time from studying in that city and how likely someone is to face weather disasters in a year of living there. Like every map or guide, the list cuts a path through complex places and doesnโt pretend to be a substitute for visiting or talking to residents. We offer it to plot points on a map for further exploration, and we daresay you wonโt feel bored as you explore.
Our cities include three old cities that anchor the Northeast corridor, two Midwestern towns with huge, storied universities, the capital of what we still call Silicon Valley, and a booming world capital of American music. Weโve also got three midsize southern cities with vigorous economies. They all offer a mix of risks and promises, from high-tech manufacturing investments to rejuvenated parks to investments that can temper the danger of climate-related events. Get to know our cities below and our methodology in the following notes. Ready? Letโs go.
Ann Arbor, MI
Population: 123,851
Nickname: Tree Town
According to a Michigander we once knew, residents in that state often said: โI donโt need to go to Europe: Iโve been to Ann Arbor.โ The city houses the University of Michigan with its nearly 42,000 students. Nearly half the undergrads come from other states. It also contains over 150 parks and offers paddling, canoeing, and tubing along its Huron River. Its management has moved to implement pedestrian-protective โVision Zeroโ projects by, among other things, installing new sidewalk enhancements and launching a citywide e-bike program in 2023. So, while you might not confuse the city with Prague or Paris, you will find vibrant street life and lively debate there.
Youโll also find a serious reckoning with new energy supplies. Ann Arbor adopted a plan four years ago to reach net-zero carbon output by 2030 and reports annually on its progress. Steps so far include an inventory of the cityโs greenhouse gas emissions, the electrification of a fifth of its light-duty trucks, and serious consideration of buying out its investor-owned utility to develop a cleaner local grid.
All this comes at a relatively sane price, too, with brainy neighbors. The cityโs housing affordability scores looked gentler than our average, and itโs reckoning with turning publicly owned property into more affordable housing. It ranked highest on our list for residentsโ educational attainment and above-average for median income, with strong scores for air quality. And, should you find the wanderlust and the budget to actually visit Europe, Detroitโs airport is a 30-minute drive away.
Boston, MA
Population: 675,647
Nickname: Beantown
Another riverside town with a huge student population, Boston (with its neighboring smaller cities) has loomed large in American urbanity since Colonial times. These days, the place residents unironically call โthe Hub of the Universeโ shows lower unemployment numbers than many of our cities, along with a progressive-minded mayor and a diverse City Council.
Those elected face a range of challenges, including some racial tensions and high prices, as well as the long-term infrastructure riddles of life on a harbor as sea levels rise and both storms and heat grow scarier. However, Bostonโs highly educated population now has new chances to help guide the cityโs future. These include a Community Engagement Cabinet in the mayorโs office that makes special outreach to residents under 35. People starting the homebuying journey can take classes through the city, and a mix of public and nonprofit providers offer programs to make housing attainable at lower incomes. Plus, the Hubโs strong links to cities around it make housing choices with short commutes more feasible than elsewhere.
For the long term, Boston has expanded its public transit network in recent years and taken its placement near the coast between the Charles and Mystic Rivers seriously. Like many cities, it commissioned a Climate Action Plan and updates it regularly. It also tracks the progress of protection projects along its 47-mile coastline on a public website. One of the nationโs oldest cities looks directly into the future.
Huntsville, AL
Population: 215,006
Nickname: Rocket City
What city gained nearly 90,000 residents since 1980? What city is home to more people than anywhere else in Alabama? Oh, itโs also a city where the median travel time to work clocks in under 20 minutes, and owner-occupancy of houses runs north of 57 %. The answer is Huntsville, a city best known for hosting NASAโs Marshall Space Flight Center, which also houses offices of global firms like Aecom and Accenture. These firms serve the technology, space, and defense industries.
We admit we were ignorant about Huntsville before we ran our numbers. However, it showed the lowest proportion of residents unable to afford a home on our 25-city longlist, along with positive job growth. Mayor Tommy Battle, on the cityโs website, positions himself as a centrist with proven success in splitting infrastructure costs with the state and in recruiting software, biotech, and energy concerns to the city. Indeed, Cummings Research Park contains over 300 companies, a community college, and a 240-unit upscale apartment complex with an outdoor pool.
In our data, Huntsville scored higher than Atlanta in year-on-year job growth, with cleaner air and half the crime rate. Of course, the measures we chose begin to tell a more complex storyโand Hunstville faces its own challenges, including a 14% poverty rate. An average household size of 2.2 (according to Census data) also hints at uphill times for the cityโs schools. Still, this city seems proud of its business climate and attention to public space. Thereโs likely more about it we can learn.
Madison, WI
Population: 269,840
Nickname: Madtown
Say this for the capital of Wisconsin and the flagship of that stateโs university system: its leaders want you to know what theyโre up to. A deputy mayor and communications staff answered our email questionnaire with paragraphs and photos. We learned that the city created a system to deploy a contracted mental health expert with a paramedic to some nonviolent 911 calls in 2021 and that this system has answered over 5,300 calls. We learned about transit-oriented bonus overlays in new zoning covering the territory where it offers tax-increment financing and other supports to affordable housing.
And we learned that Tenney Park, on the shores of Lake Mendota, is getting a new โbeachside shelterโ for recreators who want a dipโperhaps after sampling some of the cityโs 240 miles of trails.
If Madisonโs swimming scene is new to you, maybe so is its risk of flooding as the climate crisis intensifies. The city is running at least seven projects to mitigate flooding, as well as updating residents on maintenance to keep culverts and basins clear. Itโs working with the global research university within its borders to map and address places where 90-degree temperatures, currently rare in Wisconsin, will become more frequent by mid-century. And itโs announced work with partners to get air quality monitors up in several neighborhoods, for clearer signs of and faster responses to pollution overload.
Our methods showed a city with low crime, unemployment, and a highly educated population. We admit that our email correspondence sticks with us, as it shows an engaged government.
Nashville, TN
Population: 689,447
Nickname: Music City
In 2021, before sometimes-resident Taylor Swift conquered the universe and had to relinquish parts of Nashville, the cityโs boosters touted some number-crunching, setting it out as the city with more economic ascension than any other in the United States. A popular destination for bachelorette parties and home to not one but two massive music museums (three if you count the Johnny Cash Museum), Tennesseeโs capital ranked among the lowest of the cities we explored for crime and unemployment.
As of early 2024, according to data from Realtor.com, the median number of days a house stays on the market is around a month, and the median listing price hovers near $575,000. Thatโs $200,000 more than five years ago. It includes leafy neighborhoods with trendy restaurants, trails that take you into the wilderness, leading universities, and a buzzy community of professional musicians. Somethingโs happening in Music City.
With this growth, of course, Nashville needs to face down some Champagne problems. Year-on-year job growth has cooled, and home affordability poses a challenge. Fittingly, new mayor Freddie OโConnell emphasized pedestrian and bike improvements, transportation upgrades that include transit, and a major master-planned development process in the East Bank neighborhood. His budget proposal also seeks $18 million for public school textbooks and a 3.5% pay hike to meet living costs for government workers. Investors know all too well that an urban boom can go bust: Nashvilleโs focus on transit, affordability, and planned development comes in light of that risk.
New York, NY
Population: 8,804,190
Nickname: The Big Apple
Readers of Gen-X vintage will remember Blues Traveler describing the United Statesโ biggest city as โthe best and the worst/itโs life out loud,โ but on our ranking, the Big Apple comes out just as the best. New Yorkers dodge meteor-sized challenges of steep house prices, aging public works, a spot in the eye of climate chaos, and fears about crime daily. And yet.
On our rankings, New York shows lower crime rates than Denver or Myrtle Beach, better year-on-year job growth than Atlanta or Nashville, and an arguably more educated workforce than boomtowns like Boise or Charlotte. New Yorkโs atmospherics have always involved sweaty summers and lashing storms that will worsen over time. Still, the city and state are investing billions in clean energy and long-term fortifications of the waterfront. Itโs also investing in a citywide (ex-Staten Island) bike-share network with a growing share of solar-powered e-bikes.
Today, the cityโs population has regained many of the residents it lost to presumptive oases during the Covid crisis, and its job growth picture has improved, according to a May release from the New York Fed. The Fed also notes that tech, education, leisure, and hospitality jobs have grown in importance. With a municipal investment in biotech and a burgeoning manufacturing scene along the East River, the notion of the city as a place for trust-fund poets and finance bros is becoming as stale as yesterdayโs bagel. The price of living in New York runs steeply, with average home prices hitting $650,000, but so does the range of possibilities.ย
Raleigh, NC
Population: 467,665
Nickname: City of Oaks
Raleigh dove into financing 1,875 affordable homes over the past eight years, with another 2,400 in the pipeline. It also has a policy to locate these homes in a โfrequent transit area,โ to encourage car-free living. A burg once known for tobacco now punches above its weight in the quality of public life.
With a population of just under 500,000, Raleigh contains a comparable number of humans to San Francisco. But of those two, Raleigh includes an art gallery in a municipal building. It also offers eight pools (and supports an intra-city swim team). In an attitudinal example, it won a small but competitive grant in 2023 from the Trust for Public Land to host public sessions that aim to nurture civic action by brainstorming around parks. The city is revving the program again this year.
Public challenges include a crime rate that, on our index, looks similar to San Franciscoโs, a high FEMA risk rating and an unemployment rate above what we saw in other Southeastern destinations. However, the pressure to produce new housing reflects a robust housing market where home prices look less overheated than Nashvilleโs or Knoxvilleโs. New residents will find lots to discussโthe cityโs inviting residents to discuss expanding bike share downtown this summer. Raleigh seems really invested in growing.
San Jose, CA
Population: 1,013,240
Nickname: The Capital of Silicon Valley
San Jose stands out in our methodology for a high median income, decent air quality, and strong metrics on educational attainment. But compared to that older city at the northern end of San Francisco Bay, this one shows a crime rate about half the size with about 100,000 more people. (Itโs been decades since anyone back east could say that Silicon Valley had no cities.) It aims to diversify its economy, branding itself in a promotional video as โa city on the riseโ that showcases urban flourishes like coffee shops and historic landmarks along with more predictable tech signifiers.
Can a newcomer easily โmake a markโ in San Jose, as that video promises? Itโs not cheap: per the cityโs data, a homeowner must earn over $400,000 annually to afford a โmedian-priced single-family home.โ If you can meet that threshold or tap into available funds and resources from nonprofits, or if you can rent, youโll see the lifestyle the city boasts. This includes access to a bike-share network that runs the length of the Bay, and the city has started over a dozen street-improvement efforts, including a โComplete Streetโ to make walking and biking more pleasant.
San Jose understands the assignment when facing hot summers and rising seas. The respected nonprofit CDP ranks it on the โA-listโ for inventorying and disclosing carbon emissions, and it offers rebates for home electrification. Like a startup, the city tries to balance risk with high upside.
Virginia Beach, VA
Population: 459,470
Nickname: Neptune City
The city with the most impressive air-quality scores in our sample is Virginia Beach. Itโs the largest city in the Old Dominion, reachable in 90 minutes by air from New York, and draws much of its appeal from its location on the oceanfront. and its Grommet Island Park claims to be the first entirely accessible waterfront park and playground in the nation. Tourism matters heavily to its well-being, but so do logistics. Analysts at local universities say that farming in the city made a nearly $200 million of local impact in 2022. It also sustains an artistsโ zone beyond its boardwalk, dubbed the โViBe Creative District,โ dealing stipends to artists for murals and offering residencies and incentives like partial tax exemptions.
Would artists want to live in Virginia Beach without the beach? Itโs hard to say, but the cityโs identity surrounds the coast. To address coastal erosion, a โmaster modelโ has been developed to anticipate flood events, and has created a map that residents can view to sus out their own exposure. The local utility is also working through construction and financing for offshore wind installation off the cityโs coast. Residents are disgruntled about the impact of offshore construction on marine life, but the utility says the project, 27 miles off the cityโs coast, will proceed.
Washington, DC
Population: 689,545
Nickname: Capital City
No longer anything like a one-industry town, the nationโs capital picked up some 90,000 residents between 2010 and 2020. Townhouses around Capitol Hill now ask for prices in the millions. And high-rise apartment complexes, once rare apart from the Watergate, march north from the Capitol and out to the refurbished waterfront. Thanks, in part, to the land-use decisions that made data centers descend on northern Virginia, DC has become a frothy economy. Job growth looked positive from spring 2023 to 2024, with low unemployment. Of cities in our Top 10, only those in the Bay Area show a higher median income.
The Districtโs charms, of course, include a well-established public transit and bike-share system, theater and music robust enough for visiting diplomats, and all those free museums. Beyond the cherry blossoms, residents can use a network of small, trail-based parks. Public schools and public safety have posed challenges for many years, and some neighborhoods remain underinvested while gentrification strains others.
Still, the Districtโas the hub of a regional economy locals call โDMVโโshows a high level of educational attainment on the WalletHub scores we used. Its status as the locus for Big Techโs Internet plumbing and its lobbying means a steady stream of economic activity. However tawdry or technocratic government may be, itโs one industry that seems never likely to downsize. Washington faces scorching summers and complex local politics, but itโs burgeoned so much in the past decade that it would be rash to vote too quickly against it.
