The 6 Best Big Cities
From East Coast to West, these six places offer the best of urban living at a price you can afford. Sept. 17, 2016 - Money
Sure, small cities have their charm, and the ones on our Best Places ranking have it in spades. But some of us don’t feel as if we’re really living unless we’re doing it in the middle of a bustling metropolis. Our Best Big Cities list identifies the metro area (300,000-plus population) in each region of the country that offers all the benefits of big-city living plus strong job growth, affordable housing, good schools, low crime, and great quality-of-life factors such as ample transportation options and access to green space. These six places emerged from our pool of 63 contenders as the hottest spots for urban dwellers now.—Sarah Max
| AT A GLANCE | |
| Population | 822,548 |
| Median Home Price | $131,500 |
| Average Property Tax | $2,571 |
| Unemployment Rate | 4.1% |
When brothers Andy and Phil George decided to find a permanent home for their then-fledgling company in 2012, Columbus was a no-brainer. It wasn’t just the low cost of living vs. Los Angeles, where they launched the business, or the dozen-plus Fortune 1,000 firms in town, or the resources of Ohio State University. It was the promise of a city on the rise. “We felt there was a lot of positive momentum,” says Andy George, cofounder of startup MentorcliQ, which helps launch and manage employee mentoring programs.
You sure could say that. In the past five years more than 150 companies have moved to the area, drawn by a highly educated workforce—the region has more than 60 college and university campuses—and a solid business base that includes major retailers L Brands and Abercrombie & Fitch. In 2015 the city saw the highest wage growth in the country, with average hourly wages shooting up 6.2%, far exceeding the national rate of around 2% and surpassing even such go-go burgs as San Fran-cisco (6%).
The latest coup: Columbus recently beat out 78 cities in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge to win $50 million in grants to supplement the $90 million the city has raised to modernize transportation; plans include corridors for self-driving vehicles and a fleet of electric city cars.