The Honest LocalA community forum for neighbors

Rankings every score is our own recipe from public data, cities and states on separate lists

Every place we cover, ranked on what matters for a move.

Sunshine, heat, cold, snow, clean air, disasters, safety, affordability, rent, home values, jobs and gas. Each ranking names its No. 1 city and No. 1 state, and every number on the site links back here.

By The Honest Local · see all of it on the Living-In Map

Weather What the sky does where you'd live

Sunshine Score
Phoenix Is the Sunniest Big City in America (2026)
Clear days, how strong the sun is, and how rarely it rains, blended into one number.
No. 1 cityPhoenix97.7 No. 1 stateArizona96.4
All cities All states On the map ↗
Heat Score
Phoenix Is the Hottest Big City in America (2026)
How hot the hottest month gets, blended with how the heat feels once humidity is in.
No. 1 cityPhoenix100 No. 1 stateArizona99.4
All cities All states On the map ↗
Cold Score
Minneapolis Is the Coldest Big City in America (2026)
How cold the coldest month gets, blended with how it feels once the wind is in.
No. 1 cityMinneapolis94.1 No. 1 stateNorth Dakota96.4
All cities All states On the map ↗
Snow Score
Syracuse Is the Snowiest Big City in America (2026)
How much snow falls in a year, blended with how many days the ground stays white.
No. 1 citySyracuse98 No. 1 stateAlaska98.4
All cities All states On the map ↗

Air and risk What you breathe and what can go wrong

Clean Air Score
Honolulu Has the Cleanest Air of Any Big City in America (2026)
How many days a year the air is rated good, blended with how much fine particle pollution hangs in it.
No. 1 cityHonolulu99.4 No. 1 stateHawaii99.3
All cities All states On the map ↗
Bad Air Score
El Paso Has the Worst Air of Any Big City in America (2026)
How many days a year the air is unhealthy to breathe, blended with fine particle pollution.
No. 1 cityEl Paso99.4 No. 1 stateCalifornia89.8
All cities All states On the map ↗
Disaster Score
Virginia Beach Is the Big City Safest From Disasters (2026)
How exposed a place is to natural disasters, blended with what those disasters cost when they hit.
No. 1 cityVirginia Beach94.8 No. 1 stateVermont99.7
All cities All states On the map ↗
Safety Score
Portland, Maine Is the Safest Big City in America (2026)
Violent crime and property crime, per person, blended into one number.
No. 1 cityPortland, Maine98.4 No. 1 stateMaine97.8
All cities All states On the map ↗

Money What it costs to live there

Affordability Score
McAllen Is the Most Affordable Big City in America (2026)
What a household actually pays for a home, the basics and taxes, weighed against what people there earn, blended into one number.
No. 1 cityMcAllen74.9 No. 1 stateLouisiana79.4
All cities All states On the map ↗
Rent
Cheapest rent by city
The typical monthly rent, straight from the tape.
No. 1 cityDes Moines1,126
All cities On the map ↗
Asking Price
Cheapest homes for sale by city and state
The median asking price for a home, straight from the tape.
No. 1 cityToledo215,000 No. 1 stateWest Virginia259,900
All cities All states On the map ↗
Home Value
Cheapest home values by city and state
What a typical home is worth, straight from the tape.
No. 1 cityDetroit77,199 No. 1 stateWest Virginia179,496
All cities All states On the map ↗
Gas Price
Cheapest gas by city and state
A gallon of regular today, straight from the tape.
No. 1 cityDallas, Texas3.8 No. 1 stateTexas3.8
All cities All states On the map ↗

Work Whether the jobs are there

Jobless Rate
Lowest unemployment by city and state
The share of people who want work and can't find it, straight from the tape.
No. 1 cityCleveland1.8%No. 1 stateSouth Dakota2%
All cities All states On the map ↗

Rankings by The Honest Local. Each score blends at least two public sources and names them at the foot of its page. Cities and states never share a race. Places with no reading are left out rather than estimated.