Spoiler alert: It doesn’t. LA doesn’t rank in the top 250 places to live in the USA according to US News and World Report. The rankings evaluated communities based on affordability, desirability, quality of life and job opportunities. U.S. News also placed heavier emphasis this year on affordability as Americans increasingly prioritize cost of living over aspirational branding
The truth is out there. When you take all the factors that are listed above, California doesn’t score very well, for the reasons many of you know, but the politicians–ahem, Gavin Newsom–won’t acknowledge. California is beautiful, yes, but unaffordable, bad for traffic and not-so-great for jobs. The cities that did make the cut may surprise you:
| #119 | Folsom |
| #148 | Palo Alto |
| #151 | Cupertino |
| #180 | San Ramon |
| #211 | Encinitas |
The California-only rankings paint a particularly uncomfortable picture for Los Angeles. Cities like Irvine, Huntington Beach, Ventura, Roseville, Torrance and Thousand Oaks all ranked ahead of LA in statewide livability standings. Even Oakland and San Francisco — cities that have faced their own significant quality-of-life criticisms — remained on the California list alongside Los Angeles.
See NewsNation’s overview here.
Read the best places to live in California ranked here.
