Raleigh and Durham rank third for best places to live in the US

The two cities boast strong job growth, a lower crime rate, and green spaces on US News & World Report’s Best Places to Live list.

A large park overlooking Raleigh's skyline.

Raleigh’s greenspace + parks are often praised in rankings.

Photo by RALtoday

Raleigh and Durham tied for the No. 3 ranking on US News & World Report’s Best Places to Live list. The media company studied 150 of the most densely populated metro areas in the US to determine the most desirable places to reside.

The two cities stood out for having strong job growth, young + friendly residents (that’s us), and beautiful green spaces. Raleigh + Durham also have a lower crime rate than similar sized cities.

Our rating for resident’s quality of life? On a 10-point scale, we scored a 7.2.

Raleigh and Durham also ranked as the No. 1 best places to live in NC, No. 13 best places to live for quality of life, and No. 29 best places to retire.

Hey, Raleigh. You’re No. 1 in our eyes.