Phoenix ranks as No. 6 most desirable city in America

Phoenix ranks as No. 6 most desirable city in America

 
Article Originally Posted by AZBigMedia on September 23, 2022
 
 

Although Americans seem to love Phoenix, they either love or hate the Grand Canyon State. Arizona was voted the seventh-most desirable state AND the ninth-least desirable state, according to research from Home Bay. But people love Phoenix. Home Bay surveyed 1,000 Americans across the U.S. and they voted Phoenix as the sixth most desirable city in America.

The distribution of people across the U.S. isn’t uniform. Some Americans choose to live in bustling cities, while others prefer spacious suburbs or slow-paced towns in the rural countryside.

Where Americans choose to live depends on individual preferences, as well as a variety of environmental, economic, and social factors.

Although some people have more choice in deciding where to plant roots, a majority (81%) are satisfied with their location, according to our study of 1,000 Americans.

But that’s never stopped Americans from chasing new opportunities or pursuing an even better life for themselves. From the Oklahoma Land Rush of the 1880s to the “Green Rush” more than a century later, Americans have a long tradition of geographic mobility.

To learn more about where Americans really want to live, we asked them what they consider the most (and least) desirable city, state, and region in the U.S.

We discovered what makes a great place to live, according to Americans — with surprising results — and what would prompt them to pack up their lives and move to a new location.

Best places to live and most desirable city statistics

• More than 80% of Americans like where they live, but 92% say they could be convinced to move to another city or state. Of those who aren’t happy where they live, more than half (52%) say they can’t afford to move.

• More than three-fourths of Americans (76%) live in urban or suburban areas, but more would trade city life for a rural home. About one-fourth of Americans (24%) currently live in rural areas, but nearly one-third (30%) would prefer to live there.

• A majority of Americans agree that high crime rates (58%), expensive living costs (56%), and high population density (51%) make a city undesirable or overrated.

• Americans consider Virginia Beach the most desirable and most underrated city in the U.S. You either love or hate Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle: All three cities make the list of the top 10 most- and least-desirable cities. Phoenix, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Richmond round out the top five most underrated cities.

• Los Angeles is the least desirable and most overrated city. L.A. is followed on the least-desirable list by Birmingham, San Francisco, Detroit, and New York. San Francisco, New York, Dallas, and Miami also made the most overrated list.

• Florida is the most desirable state in the country, followed by California, Texas, Hawaii, and Colorado.

• Despite ranking as the No. 2 best state to live, California is also the least desirable state — even more than 1 in 4 Californians say it’s one of the five worst in the U.S. Alabama, New York, Alaska, Texas, and Arkansas round out the list of most undesirable states.

• The most desirable region in the U.S. is the South Atlantic consisting of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The least desirable region is the East South Central consisting of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee.