The Triangle has accrued another accolade – this time from U.S. News & World Report.
Listed as “Raleigh & Durham,” the Triangle ranked seventh on the list of “ Best Places to Live” in the country. Raleigh and Durham are recognized by the federal government as two separate metropolitan areas, though it is not uncommon to see the area referred to as “Raleigh-Durham.”
U.S. News ranked 100 cities using surveys from local residents, and data from the U.S. Census Bureau, FBI and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. It also considered its past rankings for “Best High Schools” and “Best Hospitals.”
The report recognized the region for its unemployment rate of 4.4 percent, average annual salary of $51,150, median home price of $219,466 and an average commute time of 24.6 minutes. “Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are known for their research/technology roots and collegiate rivalries,” says the report. “[It] is luring nearly 80 new residents a day with strong job growth and a high quality of life.”
The region slipped three spots from last year’s rankings.
Elsewhere in North Carolina, Charlotte ranked 14th; Winston-Salem, 37th; and Greensboro, 51st.
Top 10 “Best Places to Live”:
Austin, Texas
Denver
San Jose, California
Washington, D.C.
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Seattle
Raleigh & Durham
Boston
De Moines, Iowa
Salt Lake City