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WalletHub used factors such as affordability, economy and quality of life to come up with its list. Here's how Chicago fared.
CHICAGO, IL — Chicagoans might know they live in one of the best cities in the United States, but occasionally we need little outside reminders of that fact. Sometimes it's as simple as hearing this toddlin' town's virtues — "They do things they don't do on Broadway/They have a time, the time of their life" — sung by a Jersey boy. Other times, that validation requires something a little more scientific.
Chicago was recently named one of the best big U.S. cities to live in, ranked 26th out of 62, according to a report by personal finance website WalletHub. That rating puts Chicago ahead of warm weather destinations Los Angeles (36th) and Miami (48th), as well as neighboring Milwaukee (55th) and Indianapolis (57th).
More importantly, Chicago beat out Houston, which was ranked 52nd. In recent years, the Texas town has been trying to unseat Chicago as the third-largest U.S. city.
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In order to come up with its ranking, WalletHub looked at a city's affordability, education and health, quality of life and safety. Chicago scored 54.51 out of 100 possible points, earning top 10 rankings in quality of life (seventh) and safety (eighth).
Overall, Seattle earned the top spot in WalletHub's study. The city ranked first in education and health, as well as economy. The city also was sixth in quality of life.
Find out what's happening in Chicagowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Here are the top 10 big cities in America to live in:
- Seattle
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Austin, TX
- San Francisco, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Honolulu, HI
- Portland, OR
- San Jose, CA
- Colorado Springs, CO
- New York, NY
Each city WalletHub looked at has at least 300,000 residents. More than 50 factors in all were taken into account, with the highest weight given to cost of living. Other measurements they looked at include air quality, beaches per capita, violent crime rate, life expectancy, quality of public school systems, job opportunities, unemployment rate and homeownership rate.The sample considered only the city proper in each case and excluded cities in the surrounding metro area.
The data came from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Council for Community and Economic Research, Chmura Economics & Analytics, TransUnion, Indeed, County Health Rankings, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Walk Score, The Trust for Public Land, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, The Road Information Program, Environmental Protection Agency, Inrix, GreatSchools.org, Renwood RealtyTrac, Yelp and WalletHub’s own research.
Go to WalletHub to read the full report.
Photo via City of Chicago
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