When looking for a place to live, affordability, entertainment and quality of life are just a few of the factors people consider.
Financial news and opinion website 24/7 Wall St. created a weighted index of 26 factors and divided them into four categories — affordability, economy, quality of life and community — in order to determine each state's best city in which to live.
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For example, property taxes and drug overdose mortality rate were each given a one-quarter weighting, while poverty rate and median household income were fully weighted in the site's methodology.
Being close to a major city helped many communities win the title because residents had “access to more job opportunities; which in turn can help lower unemployment and improve financial security,” according to 24/7.
The best cities to live in include ones just outside of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., the report states.
When the scores were tallied, the city of Milton came out on top in Georgia.
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Milton, incorporated in 2006, is one of Georgia’s fastest growing cities, with a population increase of more than 19 percent over the past five years.
The 24/7 report cited median home value of $475, 300 and median household income of nearly $110,000 as two factors for giving it top status. A 2017 study by GoBankingRates.com — a personal finance site — determined the north Fulton County city is already the richest in Georgia. And a Zippia.com study in 2017 gave Milton the title of most successful city in Georgia.
Milton also garners points as a safe city, with just 23 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents in 2017.
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