With the variety of restaurants, career opportunities and entertainment venues, it’s no surprise that big cities continue to get bigger and more popular.
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In fact, according to the U.S. Census, large urban centers are growing at nearly twice the rate recorded at the turn of the 21st century.
But with big city life comes pollution, higher cost of living and a lot of compromising.
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To determine which big U.S. cities are worth calling home, analysts at personal finance site WalletHub compared the 62 largest cities in the country across give key dimensions: affordability, economy, education/health, quality of life and safety.
They used 50 relevant metrics to measure each city’s dimension score, such as housing cost, unemployment rate, quality of public school system, walkability, attractions and crime rate.
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Data came from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and more.
Of the 62 largest U.S. cities, the best big city to live in, according to WalletHub, is Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Virginia Beach scored in the top seven in affordability, education/health and safety.
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Atlanta, which came in at No. 27 on the list, ranked ninth for highest quality of life.
In March, a global ranking also deemed Atlanta one of the best cities in the world for quality of life.
The metro also ranked fourth for most restaurants per capita.
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Here’s how Atlanta scored across each key dimension:
Affordability: 34th
Economy: 42nd
Education/health: 41st
Quality of life: 9th
Safety: 47th
Detroit, Michigan, ranked dead last overall — and last in the best economy category.
Here are the 10 best big cities to live in, according to WalletHub:
- Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Seattle, Washington
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- San Diego, California
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Austin, Texas
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Denver, Colorado
- San Jose, California
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And the 10 worst:
- Detroit, Michigan
- Memphis, Tennessee
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Fresno, California
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Long Beach, California
- Santa Ana, California
- Miami, Florida
- Cleveland, Ohio
Don’t see your city on the list? See the full ranking at WalletHub.com.
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