Do you get overwhelmed easily, or maybe you just love small town life, but still want the amenities of a city, whatever the case may be? If big cities aren’t your thing, this is a list for you.

We’ve, already covered the top 10 best big and medium-sized cities so check those out after watching this video, if you haven’t already, but as more and more Americans are able to work online, many are finally choosing where they want To live, deciding to ditch the traffic and high costs of big city life for safer, cheaper and friendlier small cities.

Obviously, though, there’s, a lot of great cities that fall into the small category. So today we’re, going to narrow them down to the best of the best. Just a reminder that the rough criteria we’ve, been using for this series, is big.

Cities have a metro population over three million residents, medium cities have a metro population between one and a half to three million, and small cities have a metro population between 500 000 and 1.

5 million. I rank the cities according to their economy, safety, cost of living, schools, amenities and quality of life. Among other things, now, of course, everyone might have different size or ranking criteria, but i’m trying to be as objective as possible here and let me just say this is the hardest video i have ever made.

There were honestly at least 20 or 30 amazing small cities that could have easily made this list and probably will in future years. So if your favorite small city, isn’t on here, just know it most likely almost made it, and for those of you who think these cities are still a bit too big.

Let’s, hit 3 000 likes and i’ll, do a top 10 best very small cities or big towns rather but anyways. These are the top 10 best small cities to live in the united states for 2020. number 10. louisville kentucky louisville is the largest city in kentucky, and it shows there is so much to do between all the beautiful nature and parks.

Amazing food scene, thriving arts with tons of theaters concerts, history and museums, unmatched nightlife for a city of its size with bars and live music open until 4am. And of course, we can & # 39.

Don’t forget the Kentucky derby, but while Louisville definitely has medium to big city amenities, it still maintains a small town feel with incredibly friendly residents and plenty of family-friendly activities.

The job market is growing fast, with plenty of opportunities in healthcare, logistics manufacturing business services and food and beverage. With 95 of the world’s, bourbon being made in Kentucky not to mention the emerging startup tech scene.

However, wages still aren’t exactly the best. The median household income is still just 57 000, which is lower than the national average, but it’s, actually 10 000 more than the Kentucky average, and when you take into account that most things are cheaper here and the median home value is just 178.

Your money goes a lot farther. Of course, though, Louisville isn’t perfect, like most of the cities on this list, public transportation is really bad, so you need a car sure. There are a few walkable neighborhoods like the highlands or nulu, but you probably won’t want to be walking much anyways.

Since the weather is an absolute roller coaster. You can get all four seasons in the same week: number nine grand rapids Michigan, while the largest city in Michigan Detroit is one of the absolute worst cities to live in the united states.

The second largest city is one of the best grand rapids Michigan is situated perfectly on the gorgeous grand river surrounded by rich green forest and with the picturesque beaches of lake Michigan, just a 45-minute drive away.

Speaking of picturesque, the city is filled with art, literally everywhere, especially during the famous art price festival, where for three weeks every year, downtown basically turns into this giant art gallery there’s.

Also, an amazing restaurant and brewery scene, tons of fun, museums shows and farmers markets and Frederick Meyer gardens is breathtaking. I honestly think this is the most beautiful botanical garden in the country, but grand rapids, isn’t all looks and no brains.

In fact, the biggest draw isn’t, the art part in the pun. It’s, the economy, which was ranked as the best among small cities for 2019., due to all the amazing job opportunities in manufacturing, especially furniture, bio-science, healthcare, automotive, education and technology.

The unemployment rate is only 2.5 percent and to make things even better, there’s, still an extremely low cost of living with a median home price of just 186 000 low crime, great schools and hardly any traffic make grand rapids an amazing place to Live and raise a family as well.

Well, as long as you can withstand the harsh winters that last for over half the year and get into the negative 20s fahrenheit with over 75 inches of snow number, eight Honolulu Hawaii now did you expect this one far from the frigid winters of Michigan? Is the year-round tropical paradise that is Hawaii’s capital despite the metro area, which is basically just the entire island of Oahu having under one million residents? Honolulu is the only city on this list that has the hustle and bustle and amenities of a real big city, since it’s, an international hub between America, Asia and Oceania, as well as the top tourist destination.

This means there are so many jobs to go around the median household income is a whopping 78 000, with an unemployment rate at just 2.1 percent, but the cost of living as to be expected is also a lot higher here.

The median home value is 705 000 and rent for a tiny apartment averages around 2300 a month, but the residents obviously think the inflated prices are worth it as Hawaii. Pretty much always ranks as the happiest state in the country and it’s.

Easy to see why i mean who wouldn’t want to be on vacation every day of their life. Hawaii has the highest life expectancy in the nation at 81.3 years, and maybe that’s, because no one’s ever stressed or in a rush.

Well that and all the gorgeous surrounding scenery. Sure there’s, some of the worst traffic in the states, but the locals will always give you a shock, assign and let you merge, since they don’t mind spending a few extra minutes soaking in the views.

Oh, and did i mention there’s over 270 sunny days a year, number seven Colorado Springs Colorado, going from a water locked island to a landlocked city. If the big city life of Denver, isn’t, your thing, maybe Colorado Springs – is sure it’s smaller, but it also has one of the fastest growing economies in the nation and, as you can see it’s.

A lot closer to the mountains and the other worldly garden of the gods is jaw-dropping. Top industries here include information technology, life sciences, sports manufacturing, tourism and aerospace, and defense with the air force academy and five military bases nearby.

The median household income is over 65 500, which isn’t quite as good as Denver, but it’s. Also a lot cheaper to live here, although the average home will set you back around 323 thousand dollars. The amazing scenery makes it well worth the price tag, whether you want to hike bike raft, ski zipline, rock, climb, fish or horseback ride.

You can expect a high quality experience and not just because of the elevation sure the city itself does have a lot of sprawl and lacks a lot of that character and charm that make other cities fun and unique.

But if you’re, an outdoors lover and looking to raise a family Colorado Springs, is the perfect place for you number six Omaha Nebraska. If Colorado Springs, isn’t landlocked enough for you Omaha better, be i mean it’s practically the center of the country, and although the Nebraskan landscape is mostly flat and boring, and full of corn, the city of Omaha isn’t boring at all.

There is honestly so much to do here whether you want to check out the wide array of fun and free museums, one of the best zoos in the world or just want to explore the historic brickline streets of old market or the city’s.

Plentiful amount of coffee shops, boutiques and restaurants, speaking of which the food here is amazing seriously i’ve, been to pretty much every big city in this country and the best food I’ve ever tasted was still in Omaha.

The big o is also one of the best places to raise a family. It’s, super safe and has some of the best schools in the country friendly residents, virtually no traffic and great job opportunities between Warren Buffett’s, Berkshire Hathaway and the agriculture, food processing, insurance, transportation, healthcare and education industries.

The unemployment rate is just 2.7 and the median household income is 66 000. This makes Omaha an amazing place to live and save money, since the median home price is just 195 000 and Nebraska is one of the cheapest states in America.

If that sounds like a good deal, i recommend buying a house like now, because the economy is growing. Insanely fast and housing prices are on the rise number five Charleston South Carolina, so we’re done being landlocked and back to the ocean.

But this time it’s, the Atlantic and considering the east coast is where the united states started. There is so much history in Charleston and as the oldest city in South Carolina, there are plenty of museums to prove it, but really the entire city could be a museum because it literally feels like you’re walking through a living history book.

History. Aside, though, from the clean and pristine beaches to the enchanting state parks to the exceptional restaurants and bars, the city has a lot to offer. Southern hospitality is alive and well, and there’s.

Such a high quality of life here, which you can tell by how friendly and happy the residents are to make things even better though the economy is thriving, the unemployment rate is only 2.4 percent with so many jobs in tourism, aerospace, automotive, energy, defense and life sciences, And there’s, also a tech boom underway, which makes Charleston one of the top relocation destinations for millennials.

The main thing holding the holy city back from a higher spot on this list is the traffic which actually gets really bad for a city. This small and the cost of living since the median home price is 336, 000.

Oh, and did i mention there’s? Also gators number four salt lake city, Utah Denver usually gets all the attention as the beautiful mountain city, but salt lake city is honestly just as beautiful, if not more and it’s.

Also so much closer to the rockies, the Utah’s, capital isn’t just home to gorgeous scenery and amazing outdoor recreation. It also boasts one of the fastest growing economies in the nation, particularly for the thriving tech scene and there’s.

Also, a boatload of good-paying jobs in tourism, education, finance, insurance, real estate and healthcare, which collectively contribute to the median household income of 71. 500 now that might sound good, but it can also get pretty expensive to live here, especially if you don’t want to go out into the suburbs, which are really cookie.

Cutter and suburban. The median home price is 420 000, but at least the average rent of twelve hundred dollars a month is pretty affordable. Whether you’re, a young professional or trying to raise a family salt lake city has a ton to offer.

There are so many unique bars: restaurants parks, an outstanding music and art scene, NBA, basketball and a seemingly infinite amount of nature to explore, and, unlike all the other cities on this list, you might not even need a car to live here.

Since there’s, good public transportation and the heart of the city is pretty bikable. Walkable, however, would be pushing it number three Madison Wisconsin, ah good old Madison. I bet you almost forgot about this quiet college town, which also just so happens to be one of the absolute best cities of any size to live in America, located on an isthmus between lake Mendota and lake Monona and with three other lakes in the area.

Wisconsin state capital is incredibly picturesque and unique, with beautiful scenery to appreciate in every possible direction. Maybe that appreciation appreciation’s, why the residents have made Madison the most eco-friendly city in the country, heck more people actually bike here than drive and to make things even better.

The views, don’t even come with a hefty price tag. The median home price is just 288 thousand dollars, and the economy is booming with the median household income at a whopping, 71 500 and an unemployment rate at just 2.

8 percent. This is honestly one of the best bang for your buck cities, as there are so many amazing jobs in healthcare, life sciences, agriculture, advanced manufacturing and information technology, in addition to the rapidly growing startup scene in terms of amenities, there’s, plenty of great Food cool bars, farmers, markets, festivals and even block parties.

The residents here are just so full of life and always know how to have fun it’s. No wonder: Madison was one of the top three happiest cities of 2019 number two Boise Idaho. Well, you might have slept on Madison.

You probably saw this one coming. The city of trees may have stayed under the radar for as long as it could, but as the population continues to grow by nearly three percent each year, more and more people are discovering it, especially since it makes practically every top 10 list.

To put it simply, Boise is the American dream. Small business thrives here. There’s, a great sense of community and it’s, one of the safest cities in the country. It’s, also a lot more urban than you think, with one of the absolute best downtowns of any size.

It’s incredibly walkable and full of bars, restaurants, music venues, festivals farmers, markets and shops to explore, but also not so big that it’s just overwhelming and takes you hours to walk across town there’s.

Hardly any traffic, always free and cheap parking available, amazing weather, friendly residents and the employment market is thriving with tech companies like micron and hp, and i haven’t even mentioned the gorgeous nature in literally every direction from the foothills and breathtaking sawtooth mountains.

In the north to the desert, plateaus in the south to the Boise river greenbelt, with over 45 miles of bike trails running right through town, this is an outdoors lover’s, paradise now. Obviously i’m, a little biased since i moved here around a year and a half ago now, but while i usually get bored of a new city within the first few months of living there, i still adore boise and everything it has to offer.

If you do plan on moving here, though, i suggest you do it soon, because it’s only getting more expensive now before we get to number one make sure you leave a like and subscribe. Like i mentioned earlier, there were so many amazing cities that didn’t even make the list at all.

So some honorable mentions that just missed the cut in no particular order are Des Moines, Iowa, Richmond, Virginia Lexington, Kentucky El Paso, Texas, Spokane, Washington, Sarasota Florida, Knoxville, Tennessee, Tucson, Arizona, Greenville, South Carolina and Oklahoma City, oh yeah, and if you’re wondering where Portland Maine or Fayetteville Arkansas are, i know they technically have metro populations over 500 000 residents, but they both feel a lot smaller than any of the cities on this list and are honestly more like big towns.

So they’ll, be going on the very small city list, anyways on to number one number one Raleigh North Carolina once Boise went number two: were you really expecting anything, but on paper? Raleigh is pretty much the perfect city, apart from the sprawl and lack of good public transportation.

There are great schools, low crime, it rarely gets too cold and the median home value is still just 290 000, which is actually really affordable. Since the economy is flourishing. With a median household income of nearly 73 from great paying jobs in biotech, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and all kinds of tech, such as cloud computing, cyber security and a number of startups, the research triangle of Raleigh, Durham and chapel hill is one of the Best regions of the country to find work, but things aren’t all work and no play there’s, gorgeous nature, professional and college sports, unique museums, a thriving music and art scene with tons of concerts and shows, and some hip night Life north carolina’s, capital checks, all the boxes and it’s obvious that people are noticing how great this city is.

Considering it’s, one of the fastest growing in the country. Raleigh is simply the best small city to live in America for 2020
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