SCOTTSDALE, AZ — If you live here, you might have already suspected it, but the West's most western town is ranked the No. 9 best place to live in the country, by Money.com.
Money recently released its list of the 50 Best Places to Live in 2021, based on criteria like cost of living, diversity, education, fun amenities, the housing market and health and safety.
Scottsdale ranked high on the list, in part, for its friendliness to business, events like Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show and Parada Del Sol and access to things like hiking and high-end shopping.
"It's no secret, Scottsdale is a beautiful, clean, safe and great place where families, friends and businesses can thrive," said Scottsdale Mayor Dave Ortega. "Our gravitational pull is desirable because we attract quality investment and talented people who want to enjoy Scottsdale - the one and only in the world."
Helping bring Scottsdale into the top 10 was its 14 percent job growth over the past five years with another 14 percent expected over the next five years.
Other features that Money said make Scottsdale such a great place to live include night life in Old Town, its historic arts district and local Scottsdale Scorpions home games for sports lovers.
In Money's search for the best places to live, it looked at cities and towns with populations between 25,000-500,000.
Money ruled out communities where the crime risk is more than 1.5 times the national average, the median income is lower than the median of its state, the population is declining and where there is virtually no ethnic diversity.
This made for a list of about 1,300 locations that Money narrowed down to the 50 best, using more than 100 metrics.
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