In our search for the ten best cities in which to live and work, we sought places with strong economies and abundant jobs, plus reasonable living costs and plenty of fun things to do. When we ran the numbers, some of the places that popped up made us do a double take at first. But we think our formula highlights places destined for future success. Take a look at our rankings.
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For a full explanation of our criteria click here.





BEST CITIES TO LIVE, WORK AND PLAY
No. 5: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Population: 600,444
Population Growth Since 2000: 10.5%
Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 34.1%
Cost-of-Living Index: 95.3 (100 being national average)
Median Household Income Since 2000: 53,486
Income Growth Since 2000: 16.1%




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