This NJ Metro Ranked Among Best Places To Live For Quality Of Life

NEW JERSEY — One city in New Jersey is among the 2023-2024 Best Places to Live in the country for quality of life, according to the most recent ranking released by U.S. News and World Report.

The top five Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2023-2024 overall, which were determined by their value, desirability as a place to live, and job market as well as quality of life, were Green Bay, Wisconsin, Huntsville, Alabama, Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina, Boulder, Colorado, and Sarasota, Florida, according to the site.

But U.S. News and World Report also broke down the list further, with one major category by which the cities are ranked being for quality of life.

Trenton is the only New Jersey metro ranked in the top 25 cities nationally for quality of life, but it falls at an impressive #10 on the list. Two big downsides are that it remains one of the most expensive places to live, coming in at #24 on that list, and has a crime rate higher than the national average.

U.S. News reporter Danielle Cerrato hails Trenton and the surrounding area’s Revolutionary War history and scenic natural beauty, as well as local attractions and entertainment. The metro area's relative affordability, diversity, and proximity to other major cities are also part of why Trenton made the list.

A major reason why Trenton stands alone on the list is that U.S. News & World Report only considers the 150 most populous metropolitan areas in the country.

The Garden State has larger metro areas than Trenton — a city of about 89,000 people. But The U.S. Census Bureau groups them with cities in other states. For instance, New York's metropolitan area includes Newark and Jersey City, while Philadelphia's also has Camden.

Coming in at #1 for this year's quality of life ranking is Ann Arbor, Michigan, followed by Boulder, Colorado, Madison, Wisconsin, San Jose, California, and Portland, Maine in the top 5.

The NYC metro was ranked #25 this year, and Philadelphia didn't make the top 25.

The site's Quality of Life Index measures how satisfied residents are with their daily lives in each ranked metro area, along with how affected the specific metro area is by life-impacting factors, according to U.S. News and World Report's methodology.

To calculate quality of life scores, the site evaluated multiple aspects of life in each metro area using a weighted average after surveying people across the U.S. to see the importance they place on each aspect evaluated in the index.

It takes into account crime rates, quality of education, well-being, commuter index, quality and availability of health care, air quality index, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index.

U.S. News based its ranking on data from sources like the National Weather Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Census Bureau, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Labor.