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Two North Carolina Cities Rank In Top 20 Best Places To Live

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….

North Carolina Best Places To Live

North Carolina State Flag flying in the wind at Fort Macon.

BSPollard/Getty Images Plus

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

Melanie Day is a graduate of North Carolina State University. She has worked for Beasley since 2012 in a variety of behind-the-scenes roles in both digital and promotions. Melanie writes about a diverse range of topics some of her favorites include travel, restaurants, Taylor Swift, and college athletics. When not at work you'll find her at a country concert or NC State sporting event.