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 State Flag flying in the wind at Fort Macon.
BSPollard/Getty Images PlusWhere 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