Highest Area Scores

The cities that score highest on AreaProfile’s standardized methodology

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

50 locations · Calculated October 8, 2026 · Download CSV

The supporting columns show on a wider screen, and every column is in the CSV.

Narrow to one state

50 places, ranked nationally.

#	City	Score	Access	Growth	Climate
1	Carmel, IN	79.8	91	78	68
2	Sandy Springs, GA	76.7	84	71	78
3	Lee's Summit, MO	76.6	83	74	72
4	Fishers, IN	75.0	90	56	68
5	Frisco, TX	75.0	92	75	65
6	Meridian, ID	74.9	90	76	61
7	Olathe, KS	74.6	85	75	68
8	Lincoln, NE	74.4	95	64	57
9	Cary, NC	74.0	97	50	72
10	Overland Park, KS	73.8	85	72	68
11	Allen, TX	73.1	92	78	65
12	Arlington, VA	72.8	93	72	72
13	Madison, WI	72.8	97	70	57
14	Round Rock, TX	72.6	90	52	67
15	McKinney, TX	72.4	89	76	65
16	Columbia, MD	72.3	99	19	73
17	Murfreesboro, TN	72.0	96	80	71
18	The Woodlands, TX	71.8	93	71	74
19	Austin, TX	71.8	97	64	67
20	League City, TX	71.6	97	79	79
21	Billings, MT	71.2	95	57	62
22	Atlanta, GA	70.4	90	63	74
23	Raleigh, NC	70.4	97	68	72
24	Naperville, IL	70.3	92	49	60
25	Cambridge, MA	70.2	99	61	65
26	Plano, TX	69.9	96	64	65
27	Quincy, MA	69.5	99	70	62
28	Pittsburgh, PA	69.5	96	77	65
29	New Braunfels, TX	69.2	89	70	71
30	Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY	69.1	56	68	74
31	Sugar Land, TX	69.1	98	70	73
32	Virginia Beach, VA	68.8	78	39	79
33	College Station, TX	68.8	60	88	69
34	Ann Arbor, MI	68.7	93	59	60
35	Washington, DC	68.5	90	55	72
36	Chesapeake, VA	68.2	80	67	71
37	Green Bay, WI	68.2	97	61	57
38	Huntsville, AL	68.1	98	79	68
39	Fargo, ND	68.1	90	62	49
40	Charleston, SC	67.9	97	79	81
41	Richardson, TX	67.9	98	64	63
42	Sioux Falls, SD	67.6	95	73	55
43	Knoxville, TN	67.5	96	75	77
44	Denton, TX	67.0	94	73	63
45	Tyler, TX	66.7	99	60	70
46	Kansas City, MO	66.5	94	67	66
47	Boise City, ID	66.0	90	47	61
48	Omaha, NE	65.7	97	61	59
49	Broken Arrow, OK	65.7	95	87	62
50	Clarksville, TN	65.6	73	76	75

Methodology

Cities ranked by Area Score, a weighted mean of the eight 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.

The top 50 of the 351 cities that meet these criteria are listed.

Sources

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)
U.S. Census Bureau — Building Permits Survey (2026)

Full details of how signals and the Area Score are calculated are on the methodology page, and how rankings like this one are built and reviewed is on the editorial policy page.