Click a column to sort. Click a metro for its full profile.
Elsewhere
Every U.S. metro area with at least 250,000 people — 193 of them — ranked on weather, cost, jobs, getting around and taxes. Tell us how much each one matters and the list reorders.
Click a column to sort. Click a metro for its full profile.
Good-weather days per year, from ten years of daily records (2016–2025) at each metro's main weather station. Temperature counts most: a day with a high of 55–90°F earns a full point. Hotter days earn less (0.85 up to 95°F, 0.6 up to 100°F, 0.3 above), and so do cooler ones (0.6 for 45–55°F, 0.25 for 32–45°F, nothing below freezing). Each rain day subtracts half a point, a snow day another half, and a muggy day (normal dew point above 65°F) a fifth of a point.
Typical rent as a share of median household income, typical home value divided by median income, and the regional price level for everything else (U.S. = 100). Lower is better for all three.
Unemployment over the last 12 months, job growth since 2019, and median household income adjusted for local prices.
Transit trips per resident each year, the share of commuters who take transit, walk or bike, the EPA walkability index, and average commute time.
Mostly (75%) the share of income a working couple pays in state and local income, property and sales tax, averaged for households earning $100,000 and $200,000. City income taxes like New York's and Philadelphia's are included. The other 25% is the tax on a retired couple with $40,000 of Social Security and $60,000 from a 401(k) or IRA. Lower is better.
Each measure is turned into a 0–100 score by where a metro falls among all 193: the best gets 100, the worst 0. A category's score is the average of its measures, and the overall score is the average of the five categories using your weights.
Sources: Zillow Research (rent and home values, Sep 2026); U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020–2024; Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price parities (2024); Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment and employment (through Sep 2026); Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database (Oct 2025–Sep 2026); EPA National Walkability Index; NOAA daily weather records and dew point normals. Taxes: Tax Foundation 2026 state income tax brackets, city and county income tax rates, state retirement-income rules for 2026, Census median real estate taxes paid (2020–2024), and city sales tax rates as of September 2026. Tax figures use the main city's rules and are estimates for comparison, not tax advice. Metro areas are Census-defined and include their suburbs. In a few smaller metros, transit trips are reported under a neighboring metro's agency (Provo and Ogden under Salt Lake City, York under Harrisburg, Reading under Lancaster, Utica under Syracuse); those metros are scored on the other transit measures only.