2018 Best Places To Live: 2 Virginia Cities, DC Make US News List

WASHINGTON, DC — While it catches heat for being a so-called swamp of political influencers, Washington, D.C., is also a mix of vibrant neighborhoods and the heart of a tech corridor with good paying jobs, all of which placed the capital high in a new ranking of cities. Affordability, the availability of jobs and quality of life are all things people consider when deciding where to move. U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 Best Places to Live in the United States shows people are moving to the South, Western states and the Midwest. Washington, D.C., came in at eighth place in the ranking of the country’s 125 largest metropolitan areas, while two Virginia cities were also ranked.

Austin, Texas, was named the No. 1 best place to live for the second consecutive year. Colorado Springs, Colorado, took the No. 2 spot, bumping Denver, Colorado, to No. 3, and Des Moines, Iowa, came in at No. 4. Fayetteville, Arkansas, came in at No. 5 for the second year in a row. Rounding out the top 10 were Portland, Oregon; Huntsville, Alabama; Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Seattle, Washington.

Richmond placed at No. 54 on the list, and Virginia Beach ranked No. 99.

“When deciding on a place to settle down, it’s important to understand that where a person lives can impact their well-being,” Kim Castro, executive editor at U.S. News, said in a news release. “U.S. News created the Best Places to Live to highlight areas across the country that have the characteristics residents are looking for, including steady job growth and affordability. The top-ranked places are areas where citizens can feel the most fulfilled socially, physically and financially.”

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. Like us on Facebook. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app.)

To come up with the 2018 Best Places to Live ranking, U.S. News looked at data from the Census Bureau, FBI and Department of Labor. The various qualities residents look for — for example, the job market, affordability and quality of life — were weighted according to the results of the of a public survey in which 2,500 random internet users in 125 metro areas were asked where they would prefer to live.

Americans were less interested in the number of people moving in or out of a metro area and the strength of the job market than they were in overall quality of life and affordability.

Here's what the publication had to say about life in the District:

"To the rest of the country, Washington, D.C., is the nation's capital – and that's it. It's where lawmakers sit high and mighty, and it's the scapegoat for every unpopular political decision. But those who live in the District are quick to point out that there's more to their area than government.

The Washington, D.C., metro area has the perks of a large urban area. It's serviced by an extensive public transit system, and is home to plenty of restaurants, entertainment venues, a variety of museums, public parks and other cultural sites. Meanwhile, each neighborhood in the District and its surrounding towns has its own atmosphere. Residents gather for block parties, mingle at dog parks and converse at coffee shops, creating an ambiance similar to that of a much smaller community."

Though its population didn’t grow as quickly in 2016 as it did in previous years, Austin ranked high on the desirability survey. Colorado Springs got high marks for quality of life and a booming job market, and the Gallup Sharecare Well-Being Index shows residents generally feel fulfilled socially, physically and financially, and U.S. News said its data shows high school students in Colorado Springs are sufficiently prepared for college and face a better job market than others did in recent years. Des Moines moved up five spots on the list because of a decent cost of living, quality of life and increased job prospects.

Several cities were newcomers to the top 10, including Portland, which saw the largest jump in desirability of all cities on the list. Though the quality of life, net migration and job market rankings in Minneapolis didn’t change, more survey respondents expressed a desire to move their than they have in previous years.

U.S. News said one of the biggest surprises was Huntsville, which has the second-largest research park in the country in Cummings Research Park, which houses several major employers, including Science Applications International Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and the University of Alabama, all of which offer jobs in the burgeoning science, technology, engineering and math fields. The U.S. Army also employs a number of residents at Redstone Arsenal, where NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is located. Huntsville also boasts the highest value score out of all the places on the list.

Read the full list here.

PHOTO: An aerial view of the Washington Monument photographed on December 9, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)