A Tale of 300 Cities

Gainesville, Fla., noted for its gracious charm and relaxed way of life, jumped from No. 7 in 1994 to the top spot on Money magazine’s 1995 list of America’s 300 best places to live. Four other Florida cities ranked in the top 10; San Francisco, California’s top-ranked city, was No. 24. Criteria for the rankings were weather, economy, health, crime, housing, education, transit, leisure and the arts. Last year’s rankings appear in parentheses.

American’s Top 50 Cities

1. Gainesville, Fla. (7)

2. Rochester, Minn. (2)

3. Jacksonville, Fla. (67)

4. Seattle (8)

5. Ocala, Fla. (78)

6. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (56)

7. Salem, N.H./Haverhill, Mass. (146)

8. Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, N.C. (1)

9. Las Vegas (43)

10. Naples, Fla. (28)

11. Tampa, Fla. (69)

12. Manchester, N.H. (79)

13. Daytona Beach, Fla. (74)

14. Sarasota, Fla. (37)

15. Charlottesville, Va. (77)

16. Madison, Wis. (16)

17. Orlando, Fla. (61)

18. Sioux Falls, S.D. (9)

19. Nashua, N.H. (15)

20. Lafayette, Ind. (33)

21. Pueblo, Colo. (18)

22. Pensacola, Fla. (72)

23. Grand Forks, N.D. (21)

24. San Francisco (13)

25. Fitchburg, Mass. (167)

26. West Palm Beach, Fla. (150)

27. Greeley, Colo. (55)

28. Ft. Walton Beach, Fla. (35)

29. Provo-Orem, Utah (3)

30. Fargo, N.D. (23)

31. Columbia, Mo. (20)

32. Ft. Collins, Colo. (64)

33. Ann Arbor, Mich. (180)

34. Ft. Myers, Fla. (41)

35. Austin, Texas (17)

36. Portland, Ore. (24)

37. Denver (12)

38. Reno, Nev. (51)

39. Ft Worth (91)

40. Waco (93)

41. Lakeland, Fla. (47)

42. Tacoma, Wash. (94)

43. Olympia, Wash. (39)

44. San Jose (5)

45. Middlesex County, Mass. (148)

46. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. (32)

47. Benton Harbor, Mich. (289)

48. Boulder, Colo. (68)

49. Flint, Mich. (297)

50. Ft Pierce, Fla. (97)

64. Santa Rosa (89)

84. Ventura (42)

86. San Diego (11)

88. Orange County (73)

94. Los Angeles-Long Beach (66)

116. San Luis Obispo (45)

117. Santa Cruz (134)

118. Riverside-San Bernardino (86)

126. Santa Barbara (110)

135. Oakland, Calif. (44)

137. Napa Valley, Calif. (141)

210. Chico-Paradise (171)

231. Merced (182)

247. Sacramento (109)

253. Stockton (236)

275. Redding (131)

281. Yolo (275)

285. Bakersfield (221)

287. Fresno (166)

295. Tulare County (203)

299. Modesto (285)

300. Yuba City (291)

Note: Readers disappointed with the list can create their own using an on-line service provided by Money magazine at https://pathfinder.com/money. Users can break down the survey criteria, assign values to each and determine the ideal place to live.

Source: Money magazine