Seattle Ranks High On 2022 'Best Places To Live' List

SEATTLE — Seattle and its neighbors nabbed high marks in this year's "Best Places To Live In America" rankings, assembled each year by the school and community rating website Niche. The online ranking firm taps data from the U.S. Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and FBI, and consults millions of resident reviews across the nation to shape the rankings, taking into account the health of local housing markets, neighborhood diversity, public school quality, walkability and affordability.

For the eighth year of its rankings, Niche included 228 cities and 18,515 towns and neighborhoods across the United States. Bragging rights are assigned across several categories, from Best Places and Best Cities broadly, to more focused parameters like the best cities to raise a family.

Niche named Seattle the best city in America for outdoor activities and the 13th best city to live in overall. The Emerald City ranked third in the nation for young professionals and the eighth-best city for raising a family.

The annual "Best Places" list also compares communities and neighborhoods on the state level, using the same set of metrics, and the Eastside dominated this year's list. The Sammamish Valley was named the best place to live in Washington, followed by Southeast Redmond, which rocketed from the tenth spot in 2021 to second place in 2022.

Niche's 2022 Best Places to Live in Washington (Top 10):

1. Sammamish Valley
2. Southeast Redmond
3. Wilburton
4. North Redmond
5. Overlake
6. Grass Lawn
7. West Bellevue
8. Northwest Bellevue
9. Education Hill
10. Westlake

Nationally, The Woodlands, Texas, kept its spot at the best city to live in America, and Chesterbrook, Penn., kept its mantle as the overall best place to live for the third year running.

Here are some of the national highlights:

2022 Best Places to Live in America

1. Chesterbrook, PA
2. City Center, CA
3. Penn Wynne, PA
4. Houserville, PA
5. Cottonwood Creek South, TX

2022 Best Cities to Live in America

1. The Woodlands, TX
2. Cambridge, MA
3. Naperville, IL
4. Arlington, VA
5. Overland Park, KS

Readers can explore the full national, state and local slate of 2022 ratings via Niche.