Criteria for Our Best Cities PicksWhich City Is Best For You?PODCAST: How We Picked the Cities
Now Florida, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, is using creative-class criteria to pick great places to live for different times in your life -- whether you're just starting out, married with children, a midlife professional, an empty-nester or retired. We partnered with Florida and his associates to generate our Kiplinger/Richard Florida 25 Best Cities.
The 25 winning cities were selected not just because they have a strong creative class (see all our criteria). Each is well suited in several ways to a different stage of your life. Those judged best for raising families have great schools, for example. Those for retirees provide exceptional and reasonably priced health care. Each winning city has a large number of people who are in a particular stage of life. Some locales are pricey, but higher salaries in those cities may mitigate the cost of living.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
We think our cities will resonate in particular with the group that makes up so many of our readers. "Baby-boomers," Florida points out, "are making more moves strictly to improve their lifestyle."
The cities that ranked highly for young singles score well on rental affordability and have a high number of bars and restaurants per capita.
Best Cities for Mid-Level Professionals
Areas with lots of career opportunities, growth in wages and affordable housing made our cut.
Best Cities for Married With Kids
All these cities have wholesome environments and plenty of things families can do together.
We picked cities with a strong cultural mix and plenty of outdoor amenities.
These places offer vibrant cultural and education amenities, reasonable health-care costs, good health-care availability and a low total crime rate.
-
Quiz: Do You Really Know How Social Security Benefits Are Taxed?Quiz Social Security benefits often come with confusing IRS tax rules that can trip up financially savvy retirees and near-retirees.
-
Are You Ready for 65? The Medicare Initial Enrollment Period QuizQuiz Turning 65 soon? Test your basic knowledge of Medicare's Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) rules in our quick quiz.
-
3 Ways to Stretch the 2026 Social Security COLA For Your BudgetThree steps retirees can take to stretch the Social Security COLA to fit their budgets.
-
How to Search For Foreclosures Near You: Best Websites for ListingsMaking Your Money Last Searching for a foreclosed home? These top-rated foreclosure websites — including free, paid and government options — can help you find listings near you.
-
Luxury Home Prices Rise as the Rich Dodge High Mortgage RatesLuxury home prices rose 9% to the highest third-quarter level on record, Redfin reports, growing nearly three times faster than non-luxury prices.
-
Four Tips for Renting Out Your Home on Airbnbreal estate Here's what you should know before listing your home on Airbnb.
-
Five Ways to Shop for a Low Mortgage RateBecoming a Homeowner Mortgage rates are high this year, but you can still find an affordable loan with these tips.
-
Looking to Relocate? Plan for Climate Changebuying a home Extreme weather events are on the rise. If you’re moving, make sure your new home is protected from climate change disasters.
-
Retirees, A Healthy Condo Has a Flush Reserve FundSmart Buying Reserve funds for a third of homeowner and condo associations have insufficient cash, experts say. Here are some cautionary steps you should take.
-
Cash Home Buyers: New Services Offer Help Making All-Cash OffersBecoming a Homeowner Some firms help home buyers make all-cash offers on homes. Weigh the fees before you sign on.
-
Home Sale Prices in the 50 Largest Metro AreasBecoming a Homeowner What’s happening in the market where you live?
