Florida city claims top spot on list of best places to live in America

Last updated: 2024/05/21 at 6:27 PM

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida city claimed the top spot on a list of the best places to live in America.

The U.S. News & World Report released its “2024-2025 Best Places to Live” rankings Tuesday and gave Naples the title of the best spot to live in the U.S.

U.S. News said it analyzed data related to the desirability, quality of life, job market and value of 150 major U.S. cities.

The report said Naples performed well in the desirability (No. 4), job market (No. 3) and quality of life (No. 28) indexes. “This combination propelled it to the top of the ranking, despite its high cost of living translating to a low score in the value index. The city also ranked highly among some of the individual metrics that factored into the quality of life score: No. 4 in college readiness, No. 26 in well-being, No. 15 in air quality and No. 12 for its low crime rate,” the report said.

However, endless sunshine and white sand beaches come at a cost. U.S. News said home prices in Naples are well above the national median. The city ranked No. 108 in value out of the 150 major cities included in this year’s rankings.

“It is much more expensive to live here than any place I’ve ever lived. Insurance is higher, housing is higher, food costs more,” said Tiffani Mensch, president and CEO of United Way of Collier and the Keys. “So obviously, there is a large portion of our population that lives paycheck to paycheck, and those folks are the ones that are really running this town. They’re our servers and our hotel workers and our teachers and nurses, and the people that run the tourism industry.”

PJ Smith, the 2024 Naples Area Board of Realtors president, told U.S. News that she strongly recommends anyone considering moving to Naples to consult with a trusted resource who understands the area and knows about investing in different types of properties.

Other Florida cities that made the list were Sarasota (No. 11), Pensacola (No. 31) and Tampa (No 35).

Here is a look at the top 10 places to live, according to U.S. News.