HUNTSVILLE – The Huntsville metropolitan area has been named as the third Best Place to Live by U.S. News & World Report.

The report, which was released today, unveiled the 2021–2022 Best Places to Live in the United States. With the impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic causing many Americans to re–evaluate where to settle down, the new list ranks the country’s 150 most populous metropolitan areas based on affordability, job prospects and desirability.

For the second consecutive year, Boulder, CO ranks No. 1, due to high quality of life, job market and desirability scores. Raleigh & Durham, NC jumped nine spots to take No. 2 and Huntsville catapulted 12 spots to No. 3.

“Once a sleepy farming town, Huntsville gained national recognition during the Space Race of the 1960s and is now consistently among the fastest-growing metro areas in Alabama,” U.S. News & World Report stated. “Huntsville’s city center has undergone a renaissance in recent years. An outbreak of new construction downtown means more shopping, dining and apartment options are available. Just west of downtown, a defunct cotton mill became a bustling arts center, and craft breweries and bars have sprung up in a renovated old middle school.”

U.S. News analyzed 150 metro areas in the United States to find the best places to live based on quality of life and the job market in each metro area, as well as the value of living there and people’s desire to live there.

“This year we’re looking at how the most populous metro areas in the U.S. fared for much of the coronavirus pandemic, and seeing how far they’ll need to come to recover,” said Devon Thorsby, real estate editor at U.S. News. “It shouldn’t be a surprise that many metro areas that saw unemployment levels skyrocket in 2020 fell in the rankings, but those with greater employment stability tended to fare well.”

With an unemployment rate reaching a monthly average of nearly 9% last year, Boston, MA fell 13 spots to No. 31, while Las Vegas, NV–which had an average unemployment rate of around 15% –plummeted 50 spots to No. 137. Also due in part to a decline in job market scores, San Diego, CA fell 52 spots to No. 97 and Honolulu, HI fell 42 spots to No. 113. Meanwhile, metro areas that have significant employment in research, academia or aerospace engineering –such as top three metro areas Raleigh & Durham, NC and Huntsville –tended to experience more economic stability and rank better overall.

The 2021–2022 Best Places to Live were determined based on a methodology that factored in job market, value, quality of life, desirability and net migration ratings. They were determined in part using a public survey of thousands of individuals throughout the U.S. to find out what qualities they consider important in a place to live. The methodology also factors in data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sharecare, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as the U.S. News rankings of the Best High Schools and Best Hospitals.

Huntsville has also been named by U.S. News as the No. 1 Cheapest Places to Live, No. 1 Best Places to Live in Alabama. No. 18 Safest Places to Live and No. 78 Best Places to Retire.

For more information, go to https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/best-places-to-live?src=usn_pr

Top ten rankings of the Best Places to Live in the United States:

1. Boulder, CO

2. Raleigh & Durham, NC

3. Huntsville, AL

4. Fayetteville, AR

5. Austin, TX

6. Colorado Springs, CO

7. Naples, FL

8. Portland, ME

9. Sarasota, FL

10. Portland, OR

For more information on Best Places to Live, explore Facebook and Twitterusing #BestPlac