America's 50 Best Cities to Live

Goleta, which lies just west of Santa Barbara, is one of 20 California cities to rank among the 50 best cities to live in America. The area is relatively affluent, with a median annual household income just over $98,000.

Goleta residents tend to report relatively healthy habits — 86.0% of resident adults report getting at least some exercise in their leisure time, compared to 77.3% of all American adults. More than 92% of residents also have somewhere they can go to get exercise, as the city has an outsized share of gyms and other recreational activity centers.

Revere is one of seven Massachusetts cities to rank among the 50 best cities to live. The city, just north of Boston, has relatively healthy residents, with a low obesity rate and a high share of residents who exercise in their free time.

Revere offers commuters more transit options than the typical city, as over a quarter of commuters take public transit. Just 56.3% of workers drive to work by themselves — 20 percentage points lower than the rate nationwide. One study found that long commutes are associated with high cholesterol and elevated blood pressure, as well as anxiety, stress, and poor sleep.

Harrison, New Jersey, is just over the Passaic River from Newark and within commuting distance from New York City. It is one of the fastest growing cities to rank among the best places to live, with its population increasing by over 19% over the past five years.

Harrison is home to Red Bull Arena, where the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer play their home games. The city has higher than typical concentrations of fitness and recreational centers, bars, and restaurants as well.

Westfield, New Jersey, has one of the lowest violent crime rates out of the more than 2,000 cities considered for this list. It reported just 13.4 murders, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults per 100,000 residents, a fraction of the U.S. violent crime rate of 367 per 100,000.

In spite of being one of the best cities to live in the country, Westfield has shrunk in recent years. The city, just west of New York City, had a 2.5% population decline over the past five years.

Chelsea, Massachusetts, which sits just north of Boston, is one of the faster growing cities in the country. Over the past five years, its population increased by 7.8% to nearly 40,000 people. The overall U.S. population increased by 3.4% during that same time period.

Chelsea has some of the best health outcomes among American cities. It has a 30-day mortality rate of just 9.8% among Medicare recipients who suffer health challenges like heart failure, pneumonia, stroke, and more. The nationwide rate is 10.7%. The city also has a relatively low share of residents who are obese and who get no leisure time exercise.