U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in rankings and consumer advice, has unveiled the 2025-2026 Best Places to Live in the U.S., ranking major U.S. cities based on value, desirability, job market and quality of life. This year, U.S. News expanded its data to evaluate more than 850 cities (up from 150 in previous years), publishing the top 250 as the year’s best places to live, including the best places to live in Arizona.
New data considerations and the expansion of evaluated cities resulted in a new top 10 for the 2025-2026 year, with Johns Creek, Georgia, taking No. 1 due to its strong job market and desirability scores.
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“The expansion of the 2025-2026 Best Places to Live rankings gives consumers a more detailed view into what it’s like to live somewhere at the community level, enabling them to consider more options for potential places to settle down,” said Erika Giovanetti, consumer lending analyst at U.S. News & World Report.
Carmel, Indiana, ranked No. 2 on the strength of its high desirability, value and job market scores. Texas debuted three top-10 placements due to strong value and desirability scores: Pearland, Texas, landed at No. 3, while League City, Texas, and Leander, Texas, placed at No. 6 and No. 8, respectively.
The 2025-2026 Best Places to Live were determined based on a methodology that takes into account the city’s job market, value, quality of life and desirability. These measures were weighted in part based on a public survey of thousands of individuals throughout the U.S. to find what qualities they consider important in a place to live. The methodology also factors in data from U.S. News’ internal resources, Applied Geographic Solutions, and U.S. government agencies including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This year, based on consumer sentiment, the weights were stack-ranked, measuring quality of life, value, desirability and job market. The 2025-2026 rankings also include U.S. News Best States data on economy and infrastructure to deepen consumer confidence and understanding of cities’ standings on important factors that contribute to overall quality of life.
“While quality of life remains the top priority for many Americans – and has the heaviest weight in determining the Best Places to Live rankings – U.S. News slightly adjusted its weights to increase priority for a location’s job market amid heightened economic uncertainty,” said Giovanetti.
The 20 best places to live in Arizona
The 859 cities analyzed for the 2025-2026 reveal were then ranked within state-specific rankings, including the best places to live in Arizona. Here are the 20 best places to live in Arizona, according to U.S. News & World Report.
No. 1: Queen Creek
Overall score: 6.2
Population: 68,717
Average Commute: 29 minutes
Median Home Value: $547,271
Median Monthly Rent: $1,678
Median Household Income: $133,328
No. 2: Gilbert
Overall score: 6.2
Population: 272,479
Average Commute: 23 minutes
Median Home Value: $496,010
Median Monthly Rent: $1,638
Median Household Income: $120,156
No. 3: Marana
Overall score: 6.1
Population: 55,483
Average Commute: 28 minutes
Median Home Value: $358,011
Median Monthly Rent: $1,235
Median Household Income: $106,814
No. 4: Chandler
Overall score: 6.1
Population: 276,856
Average Commute: 22 minutes
Median Home Value: $482,989
Median Monthly Rent: $1,567
Median Household Income: $105,654
No. 5: Scottsdale
Overall score: 6.0
Population: 264,894
Average Commute: 20 minutes
Median Home Value: $698,486
Median Monthly Rent: $1,631
Median Household Income: $112,224
No. 6: Sierra Vista
Overall score: 5.8
Population: 44,045
Average Commute: 14 minutes
Median Home Value: $238,571
Median Monthly Rent: $844
Median Household Income: $75,622
No. 7: Peoria
Overall score: 5.8
Population: 192,470
Average Commute: 25 minutes
Median Home Value: $459,372
Median Monthly Rent: $1,534
Median Household Income: $94,663
No. 8: Surprise
Overall score: 5.7
Population: 157,250
Average Commute: 26 minutes
Median Home Value: $428,673
Median Monthly Rent: $1,581
Median Household Income: $93,430
No. 9: Maricopa
Overall score: 5.5
Population: 65,976
Average Commute: 38 minutes
Median Home Value: $363,014
Median Monthly Rent: $1,434
Median Household Income: $92,783
No. 10: Mesa
Overall score: 5.5
Population: 530,240
Average Commute: 22 minutes
Median Home Value: $427,074
Median Monthly Rent: $1,389
Median Household Income: $80,935
No. 11: Goodyear
Overall score: 5.5
Population: 105,991
Average Commute: 24 minutes
Median Home Value: $457,522
Median Monthly Rent: $1,576
Median Household Income: $101,421
No. 12: Buckeye
Overall score: 5.3
Population: 103,727
Average Commute: 29 minutes
Median Home Value: $429,097
Median Monthly Rent: $1,504
Median Household Income: $97,986
No. 13: Phoenix
Overall score: 5.3
Population: 1,643,301
Average Commute: 23 minutes
Median Home Value: $456,730
Median Monthly Rent: $1,392
Median Household Income: $80,819
No. 14: Avondale
Overall score: 5.2
Population: 93,627
Average Commute: 24 minutes
Median Home Value: $390,702
Median Monthly Rent: $1,473
Median Household Income: $83,502
No. 15: Tucson
Overall score: 5.1
Population: 548,153
Average Commute: 20 minutes
Median Home Value: $275,701
Median Monthly Rent: $932
Median Household Income: $55,886
No. 16: Prescott
Overall score: 5.1
Population: 50,529
Average Commute: 14 minutes
Median Home Value: $512,812
Median Monthly Rent: $1,058
Median Household Income: $70,318
No. 17: Glendale
Overall score: 5.0
Population: 251,331
Average Commute: 25 minutes
Median Home Value: $416,349
Median Monthly Rent: $1,369
Median Household Income: $74,410
No. 18: Casa Grande
Overall score: 5.0
Population: 66,558
Average Commute: 19 minutes
Median Home Value: $333,245
Median Monthly Rent: $1,261
Median Household Income: $69,104
No. 19: Lake Havasu City
Overall score: 4.9
Population: 62,593
Average Commute: 14 minutes
Median Home Value: $416,294
Median Monthly Rent: $1,059
Median Household Income: $68,131
No. 20: Tempe
Overall score: 4.9
Population: 184,176
Average Commute: 20 minutes
Median Home Value: $456,398
Median Monthly Rent: $1,495
Median Household Income: $78,389
“This year’s release celebrates the top 250 places that meet consumer needs best, but also offers the ability to view top-ranked cities in states of their choice,” added Giovanetti.
Best Places to Live is part of U.S. News’ expanding Real Estate division, which helps individuals determine the best places to live, and places to retire, as well as better understand the housing market, determine their home value, work with a real estate agent, and buy and sell a home.
2025-2026 U.S. News Best Places to Live – Top 10
- Johns Creek, GA
- Carmel, IN
- Pearland, TX
- Fishers, IN
- Cary, NC
- League City, TX
- Apex, NC
- Leander, TX
- Rochester Hills, MI
- Troy, MI
See the full rankings here.
