Where in North Carolina are the best places to live? That’s an opinion. While I would not survive in a small town, others love peacefulness and a close knit community. I need a million things to do, and most of them indoors. So while a large city like Charlotte is the best for me, it’s not for everyone. But like any opinion people like to throw theirs around. And one publication has done just that for the last nine years. This list was crafted by Livability editors and data scientists to create their annual ranking of the Top 100 Best Places to Live in America.
But if they do it every year how much can it change? Well, every year their editors conduct exclusive studies and surveys and adjust the algorithm. 2022’s list was created by looking at over 2,300 cities and how they ranked on 50 data points in 8 different categories.
Livscore Categores:
- Amenities
- Economy
- Demographics
- Housing
- Social and Civic Capital
- Education
- Health Care
- Transportion and Infrastructure
- Remote Readiness
Two North Carolina cities made the top 20 list of best places to live, with some others landing in the top 100. Read on to see which ones and be sure to weigh in with your opinions on social media! You can read the full study here if interested!
Top 20 Best Places To Live
1. Madison, WI
Livscore: 725
Population: 259,366
2. Ann Arbor, MI
Livscore: 686
Population: 121,093
3. Rochester, MN
Livscore: 671
Population: 117,134
4. Naperville, IL
Livscore: 668
Population: 147,734
5. Overland Park, KS
Livscore: 666
Population: 193,412
6. Minneapolis, MN
Livscore: 662
Population: 424,536
7. Fishers, IN
Livscore: 659
Population: 93,488
8. Salt Lake City, UT
Livscore: 659
Population: 200,133
9. Pittsburgh, PA
Livscore: 658
Population: 301,286
10. Carmel, IN
Livscore: 655
Population: 99,130
11. Fort Collins, CO
Livscore: 653
Population: 166,069
12. Waukesha, WI
Livscore: 653
Population: 27,419
13. Franklin, TN
Livscore: 647
Population: 80,675
14. Raleigh, NC
Livscore: 647
Population: 469,698
15. Olympia, WA
Livscore: 647
Population: 52,290
16. Colorado Springs, CO
Livscore: 646
Population: 471,686
17. Frederick, MD
Livscore: 644
Population: 74,032
18. McKinney, TX
Livscore: 641
Population: 202,690
19. Asheville, NC
Livscore: 640
Population: 94,067
20. Omaha, NE
Livscore: 639
Population: 479,529
Where The Rest of North Carolina Ranked
44. Cary, NC
Livscore: 622
Population: 176,987
45. Durham, NC
Livscore: 621
Population: 275,758
72. Greensboro, NC
Livscore: 608
Population: 294,395
This North Carolina City Ranks As One Of The Most Stressed
Stress is inevitable. Everyone is going to deal with stress at some point in their lives. Or even their day. It’s how you deal with it that makes the biggest difference. And the last few years have been full of stress and anxiety for many people. Whether it’s trying to avoid Covid, working, rising prices due to inflation, or the war in Ukraine, some days I feel like I’m the most stressed than I have been on any day in my life. That might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but gosh don’t we all need a break?
But where you live can have an impact on your stress. Whether that it’s the policies, the availability of jobs, safety, etc. So where should you live to set yourself up for the least amount of stress possible? Well, WalletHub is here to help. WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 40 key metrics to determine the cities where Americans cope with stress best. The data set includes things like average weekly work hours to the unemployment rate to divorce and suicide rates. Using this data they ranked the largest cities in the US from most stressed to least stressed. Both of the Carolina’s actually faired pretty well. One NC city made the top 25 stressed, but the others were farther down.
Keep reading to see the top 25 most stressed cities and where the major North and South Carolina cities ranked.
View the full study here
Top 25 Most Stressed Cities
1. Cleveland, OH
Total Score: 64.66
Work Stress: 18
Financial Stress: 1
Family Stress: 2
Health & Safety Stress: 2
2. Detroit, MI
Total Score: 61.20
Work Stress: 23
Financial Stress: 2
Family Stress: 7
Health & Safety Stress: 1
3. Gulfport, MS
Total Score: 57.03
Work Stress: 33
Financial Stress: 4
Family Stress: 32
Health & Safety Stress: 8
4. Baltimore, MD
Total Score: 56.72
Work Stress: 5
Financial Stress: 18
Family Stress: 8
Health & Safety Stress: 48
5. Philadelphia, PA
Total Score: 56.45
Work Stress: 2
Financial Stress: 6
Family Stress: 46
Health & Safety Stress: 39
6. Memphis, TN
Total Score: 56.31
Work Stress: 47
Financial Stress: 13
Family Stress: 16
Health & Safety Stress: 7
7. New Orleans, LA
Total Score: 55.91
Work Stress: 17
Financial Stress: 8
Family Stress: 19
Health & Safety Stress: 30
8. Birmingham, AL
Total Score: 54.86
Work Stress: 68
Financial Stress: 27
Family Stress: 4
Health & Safety Stress: 17
9. St. Louis, MO
Total Score: 54.36
Work Stress: 39
Financial Stress: 3
Family Stress: 63
Health & Safety Stress: 28
10. Toldeo, OH
Total Score: 54.03
Work Stress: 99
Financial Stress: 15
Family Stress: 21
Health & Safety Stress: 13
11. Augusta, GA
Total Score: 53.80
Work Stress: 60
Financial Stress: 19
Family Stress: 55
Health & Safety Stress: 4
12. Jackson, MS
Total Score: 53.55
Work Stress: 93
Financial Stress: 22
Family Stress: 9
Health & Safety Stress: 25
13. North Las Vegas, NV
Total Score: 53.40
Work Stress: 45
Financial Stress: 33
Family Stress: 3
Health & Safety Stress: 67
14. San Bernardino, CA
Total Score: 53.28
Work Stress: 152
Financial Stress: 31
Family Stress: 1
Health & Safety Stress: 44
15. Fayetteville, NC
Total Score: 53.01
Work Stress: 77
Financial Stress: 17
Family Stress: 20
Health & Safety Stress: 36
16. Akron, OH
Total Score: 52.83
Work Stress: 92
Financial Stress: 12
Family Stress: 29
Health & Safety Stress: 33
17. Wilmington, DE
Total Score: 53.83
Work Stress: 8
Financial Stress: 29
Family Stress: 31
Health & Safety Stress: 52
18. Houston, TX
Total Score: 52.82
Work Stress: 4
Financial Stress: 81
Family Stress: 17
Health & Safety Stress: 42
19. Montgomery, AL
Total Score: 52.79
Work Stress: 121
Financial Stress: 11
Family Stress: 49
Health & Safety Stress: 12
20. Shreveport, LA
Total Score: 52.58
Work Stress: 129
Financial Stress: 5
Family Stress: 91
Health & Safety Stress: 10
21. Cincinnati, OH
Total Score: 51.91
Work Stress: 51
Financial Stress: 25
Family Stress: 48
Health & Safety Stress: 26
22. Newark, NJ
Total Score: 51.85
Work Stress: 6
Financial Stress: 14
Family Stress: 59
Health & Safety Stress: 103
23. Mobile, AL
Total Score: 51.71
Work Stress: 75
Financial Stress: 16
Family Stress: 77
Health & Safety Stress: 23
24. Columbus, GA
Total Score: 51.67
Work Stress: 87
Financial Stress: 7
Family Stress: 106
Health & Safety Stress: 18
25. Indianapolis, IN
Total Score: 51.48
Work Stress: 57
Financial Stress: 9
Family Stress: 84
Health & Safety Stress: 40
Most Stressed Cities In North & South Carolina
46, Columbia, SC
Total Score: 47.78
Work Stress: 90
Financial Stress: 35
Family Stress: 93
Health & Safety Stress: 51
62. Winston-Salem, NC
Total Score: 46.75
Work Stress: 122
Financial Stress: 87
Family Stress: 25
Health & Safety Stress: 77
80. Greensboro, NC
Total Score: 45.20
Work Stress: 119
Financial Stress: 82
Family Stress: 79
Health & Safety Stress: 61
120. Charlotte, NC
Total Score: 41.21
Work Stress: 58
Financial Stress: 148
Family Stress: 117
Health & Safety Stress: 136
135. Durham, NC
Total Score: 39.96
Work Stress: 141
Financial Stress: 164
Family Stress: 82
Health & Safety Stress: 126
153. Charleston, SC
Total Score: 38.02
Work Stress: 100
Financial Stress: 161
Family Stress: 162
Health & Safety Stress: 108
154. Raleigh, NC
Total Score: 37.88
Work Stress: 107
Financial Stress: 173
Family Stress: 81
Health & Safety Stress: 167