Pittsburgh Rated Most Livable City

Pittsburgh has replaced Atlanta as the best American city to live in, according to the second edition of the Rand McNally “Places Rated Almanac” released Wednesday.

The worst cities are Yuba City, Calif., and Pine Bluff, Ark., the map firm said.

Rand McNally rated the areas by climate and terrain, housing, health care, transportation, education, the arts, recreation and economic outlook.

The rest of the top 10 cities are Boston; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; San Francisco; Philadelphia; Nassau-Suffolk on New York’s Long Island; St. Louis; Louisville, Ky.; Norwalk, Conn., and Seattle.

Worst Metropolitan Areas

The 10 worst metropolitan areas after Yuba City and Pine Bluff are Modesto, Calif.; Dothan, Ala.; Albany, Ga.; Benton Harbor, Mich.; Gadsden, Ala.; Casper, Wyo.; Rockford, Ill., and Anderson, Ind.

The news was greeted with happiness in Pittsburgh.

“Why, I am really glad to hear it,” said city Controller Thomas Flaherty. “This will be one more giant step to change the city’s image that it’s a smoky steel town . . . Pittsburgh is not utopia, but where is utopia?”

Officials of Northern California’s Yuba City weren’t at all impressed with the report.

“We like where we’re at,” said Mary Knapp, executive director of the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce. “We’re proud of our community. It (the almanac) doesn’t particularly impress us.”

The aggregate scores took all factors into account, but the almanac also details the best areas in individual categories.

For example, New York, ranked 25th overall, is still the worst crime area but far and away the winner in the arts. Seattle has the best recreation facilities.

Of major cities, Atlanta ranked 11th; Dallas 12th; Washington, D.C., 15th; Chicago 26th; San Diego 28th; Denver 30th; Los Angeles-Long Beach 38th; Minneapolis-St. Paul 51st; New Orleans 53rd; Detroit 87th. Las Vegas was ranked 230th.