Where are the best places to live in the United States? Well, it depends on who you ask. However, when ranking U.S. cities based on affordability, desirability, job market and quality of life, there appears to be two states that stand out above all of the others.
U.S. News & World Report recently published its 2026-2027 Best Places to Live rankings, and five of the top 10 cities are in Indiana and Texas. In fact, for the first time in the ranking’s history, two neighboring towns ranked first and second.
“The 2026-2027 Best Places to Live rankings offer consumers a look at places throughout the U.S. that might meet their needs for livability best,” said Erika Giovanetti, consumer lending analyst at U.S. News & World Report. “Carmel and Fishers, Indiana, are two neighboring locations that offer residents a good quality of life without breaking the bank.”
Located just outside of Indianapolis, Carmel took the top spot for best places to live due to its high scores in desirability, affordability and job market. The neighboring town of Fishers also scored high in affordability, quality of life, and job market.
Texas boasts several towns on the best places to live list
Coming in third on the list of best places to live was Flower Mound, Texas. And it wasn’t the only Lone Star city to rank well as Leander, Frisco, and Sugar Land, Texas all also made it into the top ten.
Coming in fourth was Ankeny, Iowa, located just outside of the state capital Des Moines. Fifth on the list was Johns Creek, Georgia, sixth was Hoover, Alabama, and seventh was Rochester Hills, Michigan.
“The 2026-2027 Best Places to Live were determined by a methodology that measures the city’s job market, value, quality of life and desirability, U.S. News & World Report explained. “These measures were weighted via a public survey of thousands of U.S. individuals who shared what they consider important in a place to live.”
The best places to live in each state
The best places to live in other states were Gilbert, Arizona; Rogers, Arkansas; Dublin, California; Parker, Colorado; West Hartford, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; Lewiston, Idaho; Buffalo Grove, Illinois; Shawnee, Kansas; Elizabethtown, Kentucky; Metairie, Louisiana; Ellicott City, Maryland; Newton, Massachusetts; Plymouth, Minnesota; St. Peters, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Rio Rancho, New Mexico; Massapequa Park, New York; Cary, North Carolina; Bismarck, North Dakota; Mentor, Ohio; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Mount Pleasant, South Carolina; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Franklin, Tennessee; South Jordan, Utah; Burke, Virginia; Sammamish, Washington; Weirton, West Virginia; Appleton, Wisconsin; and Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Sorry, Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont, but not a single city in those states made the U.S. News & World Report top 250 best places to live.