Best places to live in the United States: Jacksonville slips in U.S. News & World Report annual rankings

Tom Szaroleta, Florida Times-Union
·3 min read
Jacksonville was named the 24th best place to live in the U.S. and one of the nation's fastest-growing municipalities.
Jacksonville was named the 24th best place to live in the U.S. and one of the nation's fastest-growing municipalities.

Jacksonville dropped two spots on US News & World Report's annual list of The Best Places to Live in the U.S. but held its spot as the fourth best place in Florida.

The annual list ranks 150 of the largest U.S. municipalities, weighing factors such as unemployment rate, housing costs, household income, crime rate, education, health care and air quality to determine the rankings.

San Jose, Calif.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Washington, D.C.; Albany, N.Y.; and Boston moved ahead of Jacksonville in the overall ratings. Jacksonville, at number 24 on the list, jumped over Denver, Seattle, Charlotte and Fort Collins, Colo.

Jacksonville newcomer's guide: 30 things they don’t always tell you about Duval

Say what? 11 things about Jacksonville we bet you didn’t know

Bucket list: 55 fun things to do in Florida including restaurants, bars, beaches and more!

Huntsville, Ala., finished first on the list, up from third in 2021. Sarasota, at number 9, was the highest-rated city in Florida on the national list. Naples and Melbourne also finished in the top 20.

Jacksonville made a big leap in the rankings of Best Places to Live in Florida, moving from 11th place in 2021 to fourth this year. Only Sarasota, Naples and Melbourne finished higher on the Florida list.

Florida did well on U.S. News' places to retire, safest places lists

Florida finished well on the Best Places to Retire list, with Sarasota, Naples, Daytona Beach and Melbourne taking the top four spots. Tampa, Fort Myers, Port St. Lucie, Pensacola, Lakeland, Ocala and Orlando also finished in the top 20. Jacksonville ranked number 26 on the list.

Florida also dominated the list of Fastest Growing Places. Lakeland, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Ocala, Port St. Lucie, Daytona Beach and Naples all finished in the top 10. Jacksonville was number 14 on the list.

Same with the Safest Places to Live list, with Naples, Port St. Lucie, Fort Myers, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Daytona Beach and Ocala finishing in the top 10 nationally. Jacksonville, which reached the 50-homicide mark on May 1, did not place in the top 25.

Miami finished second on the Most Expensive Places to Live list, behind Los Angeles. Orlando (number 17) and Naples (24) also made the list. No Florida cities placed in the top 25 of Most Affordable Places to Live.

By the numbers: A look at Jacksonville's real estate market

The Best Places to Live for Quality of Life list include Naples (number 4), Sarasota (19), Miami (22) and Melbourne (24) in its top 25.

The listing shows the metro Jacksonville area's population at 1,533,796, its median age at 38.6 years old, median home price at $348,852, median monthly rent at $1,113, average annual salary at $49,940 and average commute at 26.9 minutes. Almost exactly half of the population (49.5 percent) is married and the largest population group (26.3 percent) is between the ages of 45-64.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Best places to live 2022: Jacksonville drops in US News list