Highest Area Scores

The cities that score highest on AreaProfile’s standardized methodology

The overall AreaProfile ranking, combining opportunity, physical resilience, growth, climate, access and economic stability.

50 locations · Calculated August 29, 2026

#	City	Score	Access	Growth	Climate
1	Sioux Falls, SD	79	—	—	—
2	Madison, WI	78	—	—	—
3	Pittsburgh, PA	78	—	—	—
4	Frisco, TX	77	—	—	—
5	Raleigh, NC	77	—	—	—
6	Lincoln, NE	76	—	—	—
7	Atlanta, GA	76	—	—	—
8	Overland Park, KS	76	—	—	—
9	Columbus, OH	76	—	—	—
10	McKinney, TX	75	—	—	—
11	Des Moines, IA	75	—	—	—
12	Kansas City, MO	75	—	—	—
13	Omaha, NE	74	—	—	—
14	Austin, TX	74	—	—	—
15	Cincinnati, OH	74	—	—	—
16	Huntsville, AL	74	—	—	—
17	Durham, NC	72	—	—	—
18	Plano, TX	72	—	—	—
19	Knoxville, TN	71	—	—	—
20	Fort Worth, TX	71	—	—	—
21	Chesapeake, VA	71	—	—	—
22	Spokane, WA	70	—	—	—
23	Boise City, ID	70	—	—	—
24	Salt Lake City, UT	70	—	—	—
25	Greensboro, NC	69	—	—	—
26	Virginia Beach, VA	69	—	—	—
27	Boston, MA	69	—	—	—
28	Wichita, KS	68	—	—	—
29	Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY	68	—	—	—
30	Grand Prairie, TX	68	—	—	—
31	Cleveland, OH	68	—	—	—
32	Philadelphia, PA	67	—	—	—
33	Yonkers, NY	67	—	—	—
34	Laredo, TX	67	—	—	—
35	Oklahoma City, OK	67	—	—	—
36	Arlington, TX	67	—	—	—
37	Richmond, VA	67	—	—	—
38	Worcester, MA	67	—	—	—
39	New York, NY	66	—	—	—
40	Jersey City, NJ	66	—	—	—
41	Amarillo, TX	66	—	—	—
42	Grand Rapids, MI	66	—	—	—
43	El Paso, TX	66	—	—	—
44	Little Rock, AR	66	—	—	—
45	Sacramento, CA	65	—	—	—
46	Minneapolis, MN	65	—	—	—
47	Washington, DC	65	—	—	—
48	Winston-Salem, NC	65	—	—	—
49	St. Paul, MN	65	—	—	—
50	Orlando, FL	64	—	—	—

Methodology

Cities ranked by Area Score v1, a weighted mean of the six AreaProfile signals. A city appears only if it has enough signals for a score to be published at all — the full weighting and the availability threshold are documented on the methodology page.

What is excluded, and why

Cities under 100,000 residents and cities where the Area Score is withheld for insufficient data.

50 of 146 published cities qualified.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau — Building Permits Survey (2026)
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information — U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) (1991-2020)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Local Area Unemployment Statistics (la)
Federal Aviation Administration — Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service (NASR current cycle)
Federal Emergency Management Agency — National Risk Index (1.20.0)
U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) (2024)

Full details of how signals and the Area Score are calculated are on the methodology page.