Compared to the rest of the world, the United States has a relatively high standard of living. Still, in a country home to over 328 million people spanning nearly 3.8 million square miles, standards of living vary considerably from place to place — and some parts of the country stand out as examples of the high level of prosperity that is achievable in the United States.

While there are countless factors — many of them subjective — that can contribute to or detract from quality of life, there are a few key objective measures that can reveal a great deal about a given area. The United Nations Development Programme identified some of these measures and with them created the Human Development Index, a tool to better gauge and compare quality of life at a national level.

Inspired by the HDI, 24/7 Wall St. created an index consisting of three measures — poverty, life expectancy at birth, and bachelor’s degree attainment — to identify the best U.S. counties to live in. Our list also includes independent cities that do not fall within the boundaries of a county or county equivalent.

Chester County, located in southeastern Pennsylvania along the state borders of Delaware and Maryland, is one of the best places to live in the United States. Over half the local adult population have a bachelor’s degree or higher, and at 81.4 years, life expectancy at birth in the county is over two years higher than the national average. Chester County residents are also less than half as likely to live below the poverty line than the typical American.

Many of the best counties to live in are in close proximity to a major urban area — and most of Chester County is well within commuting distance of Philadelphia.

Data on the share of individuals living below the poverty line, as well as the share of adults 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree came from the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and are five-year estimates.

Supplemental data on population, income, and median home value are five-year estimates from the ACS. Data on unemployment in January 2021 came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are not seasonally adjusted. These are the best counties to live in.

 

Rank	Place	Life expectancy at birth (years)	Poverty rate	Adults with a bachelor’s degree
1	San Miguel County, CO	100+	11.3%	59.4%
2	Falls Church city, VA	81.6	3.2%	77.6%
3	Pitkin County, CO	93.4	6.7%	60.8%
4	Arlington County, VA	85.2	6.8%	75.3%
5	Summit County, CO	96.8	8.0%	52.4%
6	Los Alamos County, NM	83.4	4.4%	67.4%
7	Teton County, WY	89.5	6.1%	57.0%
8	Loudoun County, VA	84.2	3.4%	61.3%
9	Fairfax County, VA	85.3	6.1%	61.6%
10	Howard County, MD	83.4	5.0%	62.6%
11	Douglas County, CO	84.0	3.1%	58.0%
12	Marin County, CA	85.4	7.2%	59.5%
13	Williamson County, TN	82.0	4.4%	59.8%
14	Montgomery County, MD	84.4	6.8%	58.9%
15	Hamilton County, IN	81.9	4.6%	59.3%
16	Alexandria city, VA	84.4	10.3%	63.1%
17	Summit County, UT	84.0	5.6%	55.0%
18	Eagle County, CO	90.1	8.0%	47.2%
19	Broomfield County, CO	82.9	5.6%	55.7%
20	Hunterdon County, NJ	83.4	4.5%	52.7%
21	Johnson County, KS	82.0	5.4%	56.0%
22	Morris County, NJ	82.6	4.8%	54.1%
23	Somerset County, NJ	82.5	5.1%	54.7%
24	Delaware County, OH	82.4	4.8%	54.3%
25	Boulder County, CO	83.0	11.7%	62.1%
26	San Francisco County, CA	83.8	10.3%	58.1%
27	Santa Clara County, CA	84.6	7.5%	52.4%
28	San Mateo County, CA	84.7	6.7%	51.0%
29	Middlesex County, MA	82.2	7.4%	56.3%
30	Carver County, MN	83.3	4.1%	48.9%
31	Forsyth County, GA	82.1	5.7%	53.1%
32	Collin County, TX	82.6	6.3%	52.3%
33	Norfolk County, MA	81.7	6.3%	53.6%
34	Albemarle County, VA	83.0	9.1%	55.1%
35	New York County, NY	84.9	15.8%	61.3%
36	Ouray County, CO	85.2	7.2%	47.8%
37	Dallas County, IA	82.1	5.2%	50.4%
38	Chester County, PA	81.4	6.4%	53.0%
39	Oconee County, GA	81.4	6.2%	52.3%
40	Bergen County, NJ	83.2	6.7%	49.3%
41	Ozaukee County, WI	82.3	5.3%	49.0%
42	Fairfax city, VA	78.9	9.3%	60.8%
43	Nantucket County, MA	82.8	8.7%	52.8%
44	York County, VA	82.7	4.9%	47.1%
45	San Juan County, WA	85.5	10.2%	49.8%
46	DuPage County, IL	82.4	6.4%	49.4%
47	King County, WA	82.4	8.9%	52.5%
48	Clear Creek County, CO	83.9	7.8%	48.1%
49	Orange County, NC	82.1	13.7%	59.7%
50	Nassau County, NY	82.9	5.6%	46.0%
51	Gunnison County, CO	83.3	13.4%	56.2%
52	Wake County, NC	81.6	9.1%	52.8%
53	Westchester County, NY	83.5	8.8%	48.9%
54	Montgomery County, PA	80.9	5.9%	49.3%
55	Jeff Davis County, TX	89.7	3.9%	30.5%
56	Washington County, MN	82.2	4.3%	44.3%
57	Gilpin County, CO	85.1	4.9%	39.6%
58	James City County, VA	81.0	7.3%	50.4%
59	Teton County, ID	83.8	4.5%	41.0%
60	Bristol County, RI	81.7	7.5%	49.0%
61	Manassas Park city, VA	92.5	6.4%	27.9%
62	Leelanau County, MI	82.8	6.1%	44.7%
63	Mono County, CA	96.5	12.1%	28.8%
64	Fort Bend County, TX	83.0	7.4%	46.2%
65	Fayette County, GA	81.3	5.5%	46.2%
66	Williamsburg city, VA	87.6	20.7%	56.8%
67	Waukesha County, WI	81.5	4.8%	44.5%
68	Routt County, CO	83.3	10.9%	49.8%
69	Fairfield County, CT	82.7	8.9%	47.9%
70	Stanley County, SD	88.0	4.7%	32.1%
71	Lincoln County, SD	84.0	4.1%	37.6%
72	Dane County, WI	81.7	10.9%	51.4%
73	Alameda County, CA	82.9	9.9%	47.4%
74	Washtenaw County, MI	81.4	14.0%	55.9%
75	Gallatin County, MT	82.4	11.3%	50.1%
76	Boone County, IN	78.6	6.0%	49.3%
77	Newport County, RI	81.4	8.7%	48.1%
78	Dakota County, MN	82.4	6.0%	42.2%
79	Dukes County, MA	82.0	7.6%	44.9%
80	Denton County, TX	81.8	7.6%	45.1%
81	Hennepin County, MN	81.3	10.4%	50.1%
82	Olmsted County, MN	82.5	8.4%	44.9%
83	Goochland County, VA	81.6	5.2%	41.8%
84	Monmouth County, NJ	80.5	6.9%	46.0%
85	Putnam County, NY	82.5	5.0%	39.6%
86	Lake County, IL	81.6	7.9%	45.3%
87	Chittenden County, VT	81.6	12.1%	51.3%
88	Scott County, MN	82.5	5.5%	39.9%
89	Jefferson County, CO	80.8	7.1%	45.2%
90	Kendall County, TX	81.2	5.6%	42.1%
91	Washington County, OR	82.6	8.9%	44.4%
92	Morgan County, UT	80.4	2.8%	39.4%
93	Washington County, RI	81.3	8.6%	46.1%
94	Rockingham County, NH	80.6	4.6%	41.4%
95	Travis County, TX	81.8	12.0%	50.0%
96	Oakland County, MI	80.2	8.2%	47.2%
97	Williamson County, TX	82.0	6.4%	41.3%
98	St. Johns County, FL	81.5	8.2%	44.7%
99	Prince William County, VA	82.2	6.6%	41.1%
100	Rockwall County, TX	80.9	4.7%	40.7%
101	Cobb County, GA	80.5	9.1%	47.4%
102	Cumberland County, ME	80.2	9.0%	47.6%
103	Warren County, OH	79.2	4.6%	43.0%
104	Grand County, CO	86.0	9.5%	38.0%
105	La Plata County, CO	82.2	9.1%	44.2%
106	Saratoga County, NY	81.0	5.8%	41.4%
107	Platte County, MO	80.2	6.2%	43.1%
108	Middlesex County, CT	81.1	6.9%	42.2%
109	Stafford County, VA	80.3	4.4%	39.9%
110	Contra Costa County, CA	82.4	8.7%	42.4%
111	Tolland County, CT	81.6	7.3%	41.8%
112	Wasatch County, UT	81.5	5.9%	39.9%
113	Middlesex County, NJ	81.5	8.5%	43.6%
114	Sarpy County, NE	81.3	5.9%	39.8%
115	Barnstable County, MA	79.6	6.4%	43.4%
116	Oldham County, KY	79.7	5.9%	42.4%
117	Larimer County, CO	81.6	11.6%	47.3%
118	Kendall County, IL	82.0	4.5%	36.2%
119	Monroe County, IL	82.3	4.1%	35.0%
120	Arapahoe County, CO	81.1	8.1%	42.8%
121	Shelby County, AL	80.5	7.5%	42.9%
122	Placer County, CA	82.2	7.7%	39.7%
123	District of Columbia, DC	78.6	16.2%	58.5%
124	Bucks County, PA	79.7	5.9%	41.3%
125	Addison County, VT	81.6	7.2%	39.6%
126	Hampshire County, MA	80.8	12.2%	48.3%
127	Geauga County, OH	81.3	5.8%	38.0%
128	Anne Arundel County, MD	79.2	5.8%	41.7%
129	Hanover County, VA	79.8	5.3%	39.8%
130	St. Charles County, MO	80.2	5.2%	38.9%
131	Elbert County, CO	81.6	4.8%	35.8%
132	Frederick County, MD	80.1	6.8%	41.4%
133	Poquoson city, VA	78.6	5.6%	42.2%
134	Benton County, OR	82.8	19.1%	54.1%
135	Johnson County, IA	82.7	18.1%	52.8%
136	Beaufort County, SC	82.6	10.2%	41.2%
137	Collier County, FL	86.1	11.2%	36.4%
138	Fulton County, GA	79.5	14.4%	52.9%
139	Davis County, UT	80.6	5.4%	37.8%
140	Chatham County, NC	81.7	10.2%	42.4%
141	Rappahannock County, VA	84.2	8.8%	35.8%
142	Talbot County, MD	81.4	8.7%	40.6%
143	Orange County, CA	83.1	10.9%	40.6%
144	Denver County, CO	79.8	12.9%	49.4%
145	Golden Valley County, ND	87.6	7.5%	26.9%
146	Grand Isle County, VT	80.4	7.5%	39.8%
147	Chesterfield County, VA	79.4	6.8%	40.5%
148	St. Croix County, WI	80.8	5.2%	35.4%
149	Livingston County, MI	80.7	5.2%	35.4%
150	Mecklenburg County, NC	80.4	11.6%	45.4%

 

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