Riverside One of the Best Cities to Live in Nation

Photo courtesy of the city of Riverside

By City News Service

The city of Riverside ranked at the low end of metropolitan areas to call home, but avoided the bottom of the barrel, topping Los Angeles, Dallas and other big cities, according to results of a survey released Monday.

WalletHub, a social networking site geared to personal finance, analyzed 62 locations in its annual “Best and Worst Cities to Live In” review. Riverside was ranked No. 42.

Metrics weighing on the placement included recreational opportunities, academic performance of students in local schools, economic opportunities, tax rates and overall fitness of local population.

Values were attached to each category, then totaled up to determine the appropriate rank.

Riverside was the only Inland Empire location listed in the survey, which included 11 other California cities.

Riverside’s highest marks were in the fitness category, thanks to high participation in outdoor activities locally. However, the city received a low grade for economic opportunities and overall tax burden.

Large metropolises that were ranked 50 or below included Dallas at No. 50, Los Angeles at 51, Baltimore at 52 and St. Louis at 55. Detroit was dead last at 62.

The top 10 cities, according to WalletHub, are:

• Austin;
• Raleigh;
• Colorado Springs;
• San Jose;
• Seattle;
• San Diego;
• Denver;
• San Francisco;
• Lexington, Kentucky; and
• Virginia Beach.

The complete survey can be found at http://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst- large-cities-to-live-in/14358/#main-findings .