The best and worst places for men to live.
Quality of life means different things to different people. So we
figure it must be California’s sustained real-estate boom that draws
people to Bakersfield—despite the lack of fitness facilities,
relatively poor air quality, dearth of doctors, and a libido-deadening
ratio of guys to girls.
Lay roots in Madison, Wisconsin, on the other hand, and you can expect
to breathe deeper, live 3.5 years longer, and enjoy a surplus of single
women (and we hear the Badger band puts on quite a halftime show).
Madison emerged as the top city for young men after we crunched 10
different data sets—those mentioned above, along with education levels,
household income, and cost of living. Here’s how the nation’s big
cities rank.
Research by Carol Ann Shaheen
Best Places to Live
1 Madison, WI A+
2 Burlington, VT A+
3 Lexington, KY A-
4 Fargo, ND A-
5 Sioux Falls, SD A-
6 Fremont, CA A-
7 Honolulu, HI A-
8 Boston, MA A-
9 San Francisco, CA A-
10 Durham, NC B+
11 Yonkers, NY B+
12 Seattle, WA B+
13 Omaha, NE B+
14 Colo. Springs, CO B+
15 St. Paul, MN B+
16 Washington, DC B
17 San Diego, CA B
18 Billings, MT B
19 San Jose, CA B
20 New York, NY B
21 Boise, ID B
22 Raleigh, NC B
23 Lincoln, NE B-
24 Minneapolis, MN B-
25 Anchorage, AK B-
26 Portland, OR B-
27 Little Rock, AR B-
28 Cheyenne, WY B-
29 Albuquerque, NM B-
30 Wilmington, DE B-
31 Rochester, NY C+
32 Austin, TX C+
33 Lubbock, TX C+
34 Pittsburgh, PA C+
35 Greensboro, NC C+
36 Richmond, VA C+
37 Providence, RI C+
38 Oakland, CA C+
39 Columbia, SC C+
40 Charlotte, NC C
41 Nashville, TN C
42 Aurora, CO C
43 San Antonio, TX C
44 Manchester, NH C
45 Bangor, ME C
46 Montgomery, AL C
47 Jackson, MS C
48 Salt Lake City, UT C
49 Louisville, KY C
50 Denver, CO C
51 Cincinnati, OH C
52 Indianapolis, IN C
53 Fort Wayne, IN C
54 Anaheim, CA C
55 Tucson, AZ C
56 Baton Rouge, LA C
57 Wichita, KS C-
58 Des Moines, IA C-
59 Spokane, WA C-
60 Tulsa, OK C-
61 Jacksonville, FL C-
62 Grand Rapids, MI C-
63 El Paso, TX C-
64 Atlanta, GA C-
65 Buffalo, NY C-
66 St. Petersburg, FL C-
67 Baltimore, MD C-
68 Chicago, IL C-
69 Philadelphia , PA D+
70 Sacramento, CA D+
71 Orlando, FL D+
72 Tampa, FL D+
73 Charleston, WV D+
74 Jersey City, NJ D+
75 Corpus Christi, TX D+
76 Columbus, OH D+
77 Cleveland, OH D+
78 Los Angeles, CA D+
79 Norfolk, VA D+
80 Kansas City, MO D+
81 St. Louis, MO D+
82 Arlington, TX D+
83 Newark, NJ D
84 Hartford, CT D
85 Fort Worth, TX D
86 Oklahoma City, OK D
87 Milwaukee, WI D
88 Birmingham, AL D
89 Miami, FL D
90 Toledo, OH D-
Worst Places to Live
91 Phoenix, AZ D-
92 Memphis, TN D-
93 Houston, TX F-
94 Modesto, CA F-
95 Riverside, CA F-
96 Las Vegas, NV F-
97 Dallas, TX F-
98 Fresno, CA F-
99 Detroit, MI F-
100 Bakersfield, CA F-