These are the best places to live in the South, according to the US News & World Report

Joyce Orlando, USA TODAY NETWORK
Updated ·2 min read

There are many interesting and fun places to live in the South and U.S. News & World Report agrees.

U.S. News & World Reports looked at 150 of the most populous metro areas to find the best places to live. Metro areas in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and more Southern states made the top 50.

To make the top of the list, a place had to have good value, be a desirable place to live, have a strong job market and a high quality of life, according to U.S. News.

Here's a look at communities that made the list and how the South has grown in the last couple of years.

The Top 10 Best Places to Live

Here are the top 10 Best Places to Live from U.S. News.

  1. Green Bay, Wisconsin

  2. Huntsville, Alabama

  3. Raleigh & Durham, North Carolina

  4. Boulder, Colorado

  5. Sarasota, Florida

  6. Napels, Florida.

  7. Portland, Maine

  8. Charlotte, N.C.

  9. Colorado Springs, Colorado

  10. Fayetteville, Arkansas

Below are the Southern communities that made the top 50 and where they ranked.

North Carolina

Here are the metro areas in North Carolina that made the list.

Hickory- #25

Asheville- #29

Winston-Salem- #41

South Carolina

Here are the metro areas in South Carolina that made the list.

Myrtle Beach- #18

Greenville- #31

Spartanburg- #43

Tennessee

Here are the metro areas in Tennessee that made the list.

Knoxville- #21

Where Knoxville landed: Knoxville made a few appearances on U.S. News top places to live lists.

Chatanooga- #48

Georgia

Here are the metro areas in Georgia that made the list.

Savannah- #37

Growth of the South

Many Southern states have seen growth in recent years. In 2023, the South was one of the fastest-growing regions in the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. It grew by more than 1.3 million people.

The South experienced a growth of 1.1% over 2021, largely driven by domestic and international migration. Since 2018, the South has experienced increasing year-to-year net domestic migration and is the most populous region in the U.S. at 128.7 million people.

USA Today contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Best places to live in the South: These cities top US News & World list