It’s a Slam Dunk for Denver: City Named Best Place to Live in the U.S.

San Francisco may be the best place to start a career. New York City is definitely your best bet if bustling city life is more your style. Portland is great for bike commuters, and Seattle has the most cultural venues per capita. But Denver is the place to be if you want the best of all worlds combined.

Denver Beats Boston, Seattle, Houston in Quality of Life Ranking

Numbeo’s latest Quality of Life Index puts Denver ahead of America’s usual sweetheart cities as the best place to live in the US and shows it to be one of the best metropolises in the world for settling down.

Of America’s finest urban hubs, the Mile High City did best of all on the worldwide Quality of Life index, landing the 13th spot. Boston, Seattle, and Houston also made their way into the top 30, with Phoenix following closely at #31 and San Diego at #35.

Globally, Switzerland’s Zurich appears to be the best place to live in 2015, followed by Canberra, Australia and Ottawa, Canada. It may sound like an exotic destination, but Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro is not one of the best choices when it comes to permanent living, in fact the only city that’s considered worse is Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

To calculate these rankings, Numbeo takes into account indices such as purchasing power, property price to income ratio, safety, health, pollution levels, and traffic time. But what is behind this classification and what are the qualities that propelled Denver to the top?

Overall quality of life

Perched a mile above sea level, Colorado’s capital and largest city constantly gets accolades for its magnificent outdoors and thriving business climate. But more than that, Denver residents enjoy a great living environment, with the city ranking high in terms of purchasing power, housing costs, safety, health, as well as consumer price index.

Affordability

The high purchasing power and low property price to income ratio pushed Denver up high on the list of best places to live. Numbeo data shows residents would need around $5,946 in Boston and $5,292 in Seattle to maintain the same standard of living that one can have with $4,600 in Denver. Houstonians are doing somewhat better than Denverites though, needing just an estimated $4,414 to live to that standard, mostly due to the more relaxed rental landscape.

Strong job market

Denver is a top U.S. city for IT job growth and features one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Boasting a talented workforce, the city continues to attract some of the country’s major employers in industries such as aerospace, aviation, energy, bioscience, and healthcare. With a strong job growth and rising incomes, it’s no wonder so many people are rushing to call this great city home!

Low rents

Denver is clearly not the cheapest place to rent in the US, but when compared to the rest of the nation, it is more renter friendly than most big cities. With an average asking rent of $1,349, Denver sure beats Seattle or Boston where renting an apartment would cost you an average of $1,716 and $3,045, respectively. San Francisco’s sky-high rents – $3,199 in 2015, according to Yardi Matrix – are only topped by NYC where residents pay approximately $4,081/mo.

Inside tip: Want to live in a decently priced area in the center of it all? Capitol Hill will give you a great bang for your buck, plus easy access to shopping and entertainment.

Amenity-rich living environments

As a renter in Denver, compared to other major cities, you generally get more living space for your money as well as plenty of upscale amenities. Gourmet kitchens, in-unit washers and driers, energy-efficient appliances, and resort-style amenities – these may not have been found in rental communities in the past but they are now common features of Denver’s multifamily buildings.

Vibrant cultural scene

You’ll never get bored in Denver, for sure. The city features a thriving live-work-play downtown, in other words a melting pot of ideas, art, music, and good food. Moreover, Denver is home to the largest performing arts complex under one roof, the DCPA.

Great weather

300 days of sunshine each year? Well, not quite, but the weather is still spectacularly good. Top that off with 90 golf courses, 650 miles of paved bike paths, world-class ski slopes, and stunning mountain parks, and Denver looks like heaven for outdoor enthusiasts. If you’re not afraid of a little cold, you’ll enjoy the city even in winter. The magical snowy scenery that takes over the city in the colder months could make even our Canadian friends jealous.

Awesome city to be a sports fan

Not only is Denver home to America’s favorite NFL team (Go Broncos!), but the city hosts no fewer than seven professional sports teams that make crowds proud year round. Baseball, basketball, football, hockey, lacrosse, you name it – Denver’s got it all!

Denver vs. Boston vs. Seattle

Choosing any one of these cities as a place to live would make a great move, no doubt about that. But as always, everything is debatable, including the weather. Here’s what the locals are saying.

On general vibe via City Data: “Denver and Boston are apples and oranges. It’s kind of like comparing Boston to NYC. Sure, Boston can’t compete with NY on any of the criteria, but Boston is downright provincial compared to the Big Apple. Similarly, Denver is downright provincial compared to Boston. However, if you factor in things like commute time, cost of housing, overall cost of living, taxes, etc., then Boston comes out much better than NY and Denver comes up better than either.”

On safety via Yelp: “Denver’s the safest big city I’ve lived in. I laughed out loud at being taken through Five Points ten years ago when I was told this was the bad neighborhood. Having lived in Chicago and Milwaukee, Denver’s bad neighborhood is a very nice lower-class neighborhood in those cities.”

On cost of living via Centsiblerunner: “It’s crazy at how much things are in Seattle, from rent, to gas, to food, to parking…You pay a lot more to live in Seattle. Denver is not as cheap as the Midwest, but much more affordable than either coast.”

On nightlife via City Data: “Boston’s downtown gets WAY too sleepy at night. Boston has no answer to the LoDo district in Denver. Also, Denver is one of the only cities I’ve ever been to where the action IS downtown at night.”

On things to do via Quora: “Lived in Denver suburbs 13y. Lived in Seattle suburbs 8y. Denver is my preference. Denver wins on weather, people, culture, traffic, skiing, mountains, and shopping. Seattle wins on ocean & trees. The two cities are probably tied in terms of jobs/career, but it depends on your profession. […] The rain and traffic in Seattle is depressing. I love the ocean, but I don’t see much of it in Seattle, whereas it was pretty easy to escape to the mountains in Denver.”

Care to join the conversation? If you could live anywhere in the U.S., where would it be?