Naples Florida Named Best Place To Live In The U.S.
U.S. News & World Report is out with their new Best Place To Live In The United States rankings and Southwest Florida sits on top. Jumping up from number 6 last year, Naples, Florida has been named the best place to live in the country. US News states:
“Naples, Florida, took No. 1 this year due to its strong job market and quality of life scores. New data considerations– including a shift from metropolitan area-based data, used in previous editions of the rankings, to city-based data– resulted in many new appearances in the top 25 from places located in the Midwest and South.”
The knock on Naples is affordability. According to Realtor.com, “The median listing home price in Naples, FL was $795K” last month. Yes Naples is wonderful, if you can afford to live there.
2024-2025 U.S. News Best Place to Live – Top 10
- Naples, Florida
- Boise, ID
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Greenville, SC
- Charlotte, NC
- Raleigh, NC
- Huntsville, AL
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Austin, TX
- Boulder, CO
In the 2023-24 rankings, Naples was ranked in 6th place, behind Sarasota, Florida which was 5th. Now in first place, US News describes Naples as “Long known as a preferred retirement spot for the rich, powerful and cold-averse, the greater Naples and Marco Island area supplies pristine beaches, sprawling golf courses, and fine dining and shopping.”
Best Place To Live In Florida.
U.S. News asked thousands of people to tell them what factors are important to them when choosing a place to live. Based on this survey, they categorized the data into four indexes: Quality of Life Index (32%), Value Index (27%), Job Market Index (22%) and Desirability Index (19%). Here’s where Florida cities ranked on the top 100.
- Naples (1st overall)
- Sarasota (11th overall)
- Pensacola (31st overall)
- Tampa (35th overall)
- Fort Myers (37th overall)
- Melbourne (49th overall)
- Jacksonville (60th overall)
- Orlando (68th overall)
- Tallahassee (75th overall)
- Ocala (78th overall)
- Lakeland (80th overall)
- Port St. Lucie (83rd overall)
- Daytona Beach (96th overall)
13 of the Top 100 in the best place to live rankings were right here in Florida. And 3 of the top 37 in the country are right here in Southwest Florida. The big story here, however, is not Naples. Or Sarasota. It’s Fort Myers. After Hurricane Ian, a devastated Fort Myers was 91st on last year’s list. With a lot of rebuilding, jumping from 91 to 37 on this list is a tremendous accomplishment.
