10 CA Communities Among Best Places To Live In America In New Report

CALIFORNIA — Ten communities, townships and villages in California are among the Best Places to Live in America in 2024, according to a new ranking from Niche released Tuesday.

The list, now in its 10th year, is intended to help everyone from young professionals to retirees decide where they want to live. Data sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, combined with millions of resident reviews.

Niche analyzed 230 cities and more than 18,000 places to compile this year’s ranking. Community attributes considered in developing the list included the health of the local housing market, neighborhood diversity, area public schools and walkability, among others.

Golden State cities named among the top 50 Best Cities to Live in America are:

• Irvine - 6th place
• Berkeley - 11th place
• Sunnyvale - 13th place
• Santa Clara - 15th place
• San Francisco - 17th place
• Torrance - 22nd place
• Carlsbad - 23rd place
• Pasadena - 34th place
• Thousand Oaks - 43rd place
• Burbank - 49th place

Other places in California named to the Best Places to Live in America are:

• The Evergreen Park neighborhood in Palo Alto - 7th place
• The College Terrance neighborhood in Palo Alto - 10th place
• The Mid-City neighborhood in Santa Monica - 33rd place
• The University South neighborhood in Palo Alto - 34th place
• The Downtown North neighborhood in Palo Alto - 43rd place
• The Ocean Park neighborhood in Santa Monica - 50th place

For the first time, Naperville, Illinois, was named the best city, with The Woodlands, Texas; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Arlington, Virginia; and Plano, Texas, rounding out the top five.

The five best places to live, according to the ranking, are, respectively, Colonial Village, Virginia, a Washington, D.C., neighborhood; Carmel, Indiana; Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania; Uptown Tampa, Florida; and Cinco Ranch, Texas.

Niche is an online company used by millions of people to find schools and places to live.