Most peaceful place to live? Fort Collins tops the list with outdoor recreation, low noise
Fort Collins has topped another national “bests” list, this time for being dubbed the most peaceful place to live.
If you can tune out the seemingly constant train horns, that is.
Fort Collins earned the top spot from Insider Monkey, a finance website, for its access to outdoor spaces, low average noise level and overall quality of life. Boulder, about an hour south, was ranked No. 2.
According to Insider Monkey’s analysis, Fort Collins’ average noise level is 38.03 adjusted decibels, which is about equivalent to a little louder than rustling leaves or a whisper, according to the Hearing Health Foundation.
This data was clearly not collected as a train passed through town or during rush hour on Harmony Road.
As word spread about the designation, it seemed to become a conversation piece. At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, a commenter mentioned the rating and half-joked that all was not peaceful in their neighborhood due to debate over the land use code.
To calculate how “serene” a place is, Insider Monkey looked at a city’s accessibility to outdoor recreation using data from the Trust for Public Land. Any city where more than half of the population has access to a park or other outdoor recreation within 10-minute walking distance was deemed “peaceful.”
In Fort Collins, 73% of residents are within 10 minutes of outdoor parks or other recreation, with Horsetooth Reservoir and Lory State Park named as the popular outdoor areas residents can easily access. Boulder beat out Fort Collins in this category with 93% of residents able to quickly access outdoor space, but Fort Collins came out on top overall because of the city’s lower average noise level.
Travel and Leisure featured Fort Collins’ top spot on this list in a recent article, highlighting the city’s fare-free public transportation and high number of bicycle commuters as potential factors that reduce the city’s overall noise level.
Outside Horsetooth Reservoir and Lory State Park, Travel and Leisure also mentions the city’s extensive trail system that gives residents plenty of opportunities for peaceful outdoor recreation.
Top 25 most peaceful places to live
Fort Collins, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Daytona Beach, Florida
Reading, Pennsylvania
Tampa, Florida
Hartford, Connecticut
Sarasota, New York
Syracuse, New York
Madison, Wisconsin
Worcester, Massachusetts
San Jose, California
Boise, Idaho
Trenton, New Jersey
Rochester, New York
Portland, Oregon
Albany, New York
Washington D.C.
Pensacola, Florida
Manchester, New Hampshire
Orlando, Florida
Boston, Massachusetts
According to an analysis by Insider Monkey
Coloradoan reporter Rebecca Powell contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins, Boulder most peaceful places to live in the U.S.
