Where to next?
Real numbers for 546 US cities: what homes and rent cost, what the weather does month by month, who lives there and how fast it is growing.
Try Austin, 30309 or North Carolina
What are you planning?
- Moving for a jobCities where pay, degrees and growth are high and rent fits the paycheck
- Raising a familyAffordable homes, short commutes and lots of other families
- RetiringWarm winters, lower prices and friendly state taxes
- Planning a tripThe best time to visit, month by month, from 30 years of weather data
Compare two cities
Cost, taxes, commutes and twelve months of weather, side by side.
Popular cities
Median home value and January / July highs at a glance.
New York NY
$777,600 home40° / 85° Jan / Jul
Houston TX
$277,800 home64° / 95° Jan / Jul
Austin TX
$555,300 home63° / 97° Jan / Jul
Nashville TN
$413,600 home49° / 91° Jan / Jul
Denver CO
$616,000 home47° / 90° Jan / Jul
Charlotte NC
$385,700 home52° / 90° Jan / Jul
Seattle WA
$938,600 home47° / 77° Jan / Jul
Boston MA
$731,700 home37° / 82° Jan / Jul
Phoenix AZ
$420,700 home68° / 107° Jan / Jul
San Diego CA
$906,700 home66° / 74° Jan / Jul
Raleigh NC
$415,800 home52° / 91° Jan / Jul
Tampa FL
$420,400 home71° / 91° Jan / Jul
Rankings, from the source data
Each list covers all 546 cities. Here is who comes first.
- Best place to liveAnkeny, IA79/100
- Best place to retireLakeland, FL78/100
- Best for young professionalsRedmond, WA91/100
- Best for familiesLakeville, MN88/100
- LargestNew York, NY8,584,629
- Fastest growingGeorgetown, TX+58.5%
- Lowest pricesShreveport, LA84.8
- Highest pricesRedwood City, CA115.6
- Warmest winterHonolulu, HI81° / 67°
- SnowiestSyracuse, NY128 in
- DriestIndio, CA3 in
- Shortest commuteWichita Falls, TX14.3 min
- Homes vs incomeFlint, MI1.4×
- Best weatherIrvine, CA12 months
Not sure where to start?
Tell us what winters you can live with, how much cost matters, what size of city you like and which part of the country. We score every city against your answers using the same data you see on each page.
Play and explore
Games and maps built on the same real data. No sign-up.
- Guess the CityToday's mystery city in six clues. Keep your streak going.
- Where your salary goes furthestType your pay and see the whole map light up.
- Perfect weather finderSlide to your ideal winter and summer.
- My citiesFive questions, then your whole life on one map.
- City passportMap every city you have been to.
- National parks checklistAll 61. Check them off and put your count on your poster.
- Twin city finderSame weather and costs as your city, somewhere else.
- StargazingCertified dark sky places and the closest one to you.
- Places to goParks, zoos, museums, ballparks, airports and colleges by state.
- Best suburbsEvery town around 53 big cities, ranked.
- Climate stripesEvery year since 1895, for every city. Free to share.
Where Americans are moving
From IRS tax-return addresses, 2022 to 2023. Net movers per 1,000 residents.
Gaining people
- San Tan Valley, AZ +29.3 per 1,000 (Pinal County, AZ)
- Port St. Lucie, FL +28.2 per 1,000 (St. Lucie County, FL)
- The Woodlands, TX +27.3 per 1,000 (Montgomery County, TX)
- San Marcos, TX +24.5 per 1,000 (Hays County, TX)
- Lakeland, FL +23.0 per 1,000 (Polk County, FL)
Losing people
- New York, NY −17.3 per 1,000 (Queens County, NY)
- St. Louis, MO −15.5 per 1,000 (St. Louis city, MO)
- Boston, MA −14.9 per 1,000 (Suffolk County, MA)
- Miami, FL −14.6 per 1,000 (Miami-Dade County, FL)
- Jersey City, NJ −14.6 per 1,000 (Hudson County, NJ)
Live somewhere on this map?
Rate your city, add a pro or a con, answer a newcomer's question or name the place you would take a visiting friend. A person reads everything before it goes up, and helpful locals earn badges.
Browse by state
Alabama 7Alaska 1Arizona 18Arkansas 7California 119Colorado 17Connecticut 8Delaware 1District of Columbia 1Florida 44Georgia 12Hawaii 1Idaho 5Illinois 15Indiana 9Iowa 6Kansas 6Kentucky 3Louisiana 6Maine 1Maryland 6Massachusetts 13Michigan 15Minnesota 10Mississippi 2Missouri 7Montana 3Nebraska 2Nevada 9New Hampshire 2New Jersey 6New Mexico 4New York 8North Carolina 14North Dakota 2Ohio 7Oklahoma 6Oregon 8Pennsylvania 7Rhode Island 4South Carolina 6South Dakota 2Tennessee 7Texas 57Utah 11Vermont 1Virginia 14Washington 18West Virginia 1Wisconsin 6Wyoming 1
Where the numbers come from
- Population and growth
- Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 city estimates
- Income, homes, rent, commutes
- American Community Survey, 2020-2024
- Price levels
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024
- Weather
- NOAA climate normals, 1991-2020
- Taxes
- Tax Foundation, 2026 state tables