A new study released this week ranks Seattle as the Nation’s Best Big City to Live in. The report, conducted by personal finance website WalletHub, compared 62 big cities (those with a population of more than 300,000) based on 5 key dimensions: affordability, economy, education & health, quality of life, and safety. Those dimensions were then broken down into 56 key metrics and given a score.
This year, Seattle ranked first with a score of 63.63 surpassing 2017’s number one Virginia Beach that ranked second with a score of 63.27. Among the major categories Seattle ranked first for economy, and education & health; and sixth for quality of life.
Other categories where Seattle ranked first were “Highest Income Growth,” where it tied for first with San Francisco and Austin; “Highest Population Aged 25 and Older with a High School Diploma or Higher;” and a tie with New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, and San Francisco for “Most Coffee Shops per Capita.”
Despite some of its top rankings, Seattle was near the bottom when it comes to affordability, ranking 50th out of 62. After all, Seattle has led the nation in home price increases over the last 20 months, as inventory has struggled to keep up with demand.
According to new population data released earlier this year by the U.S. Census Bureau, Seattle has become the fastest growing city this decade. Seattle’s population reached 725,000, gaining 17,500 people from July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017.
WalletHub noted that urban centers are continuing to grow at a high rate as they “represent opportunity, economic and otherwise, which appeals to people of all walks of life – especially young professionals seeking advancement in their careers and social lives.”