City claims top spot in desirability
Colorado Springs was named the United States’ most desirable place to live and placed third overall in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-25 Best Places to Live ranking, which was released Tuesday.
“Our secret is out – Colorado Springs is indisputably one of the best places to live in our great country, and we are proud to again rank as one of the top cities in this reputable list by U.S. News & World Report,” said Mayor Yemi Mobolade. “We celebrate this win and our collective efforts to create a community that we can all be proud of. And still, our work is not done. We embrace the opportunity to continue working together to make Colorado Springs the very best city for all residents. We are on a mission together to build an inclusive, culturally rich, economically prosperous, safe, and vibrant world class American city on a hill that shines brightly.”
It’s the fifth time in the last six years Colorado Springs ranked No. 1 as the most desirable place to live. This marks the seventh straight year Colorado Springs placed inside the top 10 of the “Best Places to Live” overall listing, as it moved up six spots after ranking ninth a year ago. Olympic City USA was one of two Colorado cities—and the top ranked city in the Centennial State—to place in the top 10.
U.S. News described Colorado Springs, framed by Pikes Peak – America's Mountain, as maintaining its small town feel despite being Colorado’s second-largest city. Colorado Springs, according to the U.S. News data, offers lower costs on average within Colorado for health care, utilities and transportation. It also points to Colorado Springs’ long-standing Olympic roots, serving as the home for Team USA and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Centers, as well as the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum, which opened in 2020. The publication notes the myriad hiking and mountain biking opportunities, specifically calling out City parks and open spaces such as Garden of the Gods Park, Red Rock Canyon Open Space, North Cheyenne Cañon Park and Palmer Park, named for Colorado Springs' founder General William Jackson Palmer.
This year’s list evaluated 150 of the country’s top cities based on how well they meet Americans' living expectations, with measures including value, job market, desirability and quality of life.
“Deciding where to live is a significant decision many people make based on a number of factors that mean most to them,” said Erika Giovanetti, loans expert and reporter, U.S. News & World Report. “The Best Places to Live rankings identify cities that are most likely to meet the wants and needs of those considering where to call home next.”
The four measures factored into this year’s ranking were weighted in part based on a public survey of thousands of individuals throughout the U.S. to find out what qualities they consider important in a place to live. The methodology also factors in data from the National Weather Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, Sharecare (Nasdaq: SHCR), the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. News rankings of the Best High Schools and Best Hospitals.
For more information on Best Places to Live, explore Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) using #BestPlacesToLive.