Santa Monica Neighborhood Named 5th Best Place To Live Nationwide

SANTA MONICA, CA — One Santa Monica neighborhood was recently named the fifth-best place to live nationwide in a ranking from Niche.

The neighborhood niche calls Santa Monica's "City Center" area — the small downtown area near the Santa Monica Pier home to 4,332 residents — jumped 399 slots from last year's ranking, SFGate reported.

Now in its 11th year, the ranking from the data-driven platform Niche is meant to help everyone from young people just starting their careers or families to retirees decide where they want to live. The report analyzes places of various sizes, including cities with populations of 100,000 or more, suburbs and neighborhoods.

The report's methodology includes cost of living, rate of higher education, housing, public schools and diversity.

Santa Monica's jump in the ranking can largely be attributed to a decrease in the area's rent-to-income ratio, leading the affordability levels to be weighted as more "reasonable," a Niche spokesman told SFGate.

The Santa Monica neighborhood is the only one in California to make Niche's top 10, but several areas made the top 100 list.