In the heart of America’s heartland lie two of the country’s most livable cities, according to recent rankings from U.S. News & World Report.
U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Places to Live report lists 150 cities to watch.
To create the rankings, U.S. News takes a composite score for four categories to create the annual list rankings. These include quality of life, value, desirability and the job market. Data is collected in a variety of forms across sources.
Here’s what they had to say about Oklahoma’s two biggest cities.
Oklahoma City – #16 Best Place to Live
Oklahoma City received a score of 6.6 out of 10, just 0.5 points behind Naples, Florida, which ranked first in the nation. The capital’s two main categories include home values of 7.8, which are $82,000 below the national average, and quality of life of 6.2.
The ranking notes that the recent influx of young residents has made the city feel more energetic, creative and progressive than before.
“Oklahoma City, once an early-to-bed, early-to-rise, meat-and-potatoes town, is now buzzing with activity until the early hours of the morning,” John Gifford writes in U.S. News.
But they cite its people as the Sooner city’s greatest asset. Gifford describes the city as “tight-knit” and always has a friendly hello, noting that “the Sooner State’s largest city is essentially a small town.”
The city is also ranked 23rd best place to retire.
Tulsa – #76 Best Place to Live
Tulsa received an overall score of 6.2 out of 10, nearly one point behind Napoli. US News says the quality of life is 6.1 and that the people’s culture and way of life is unique to Tulsa.
Research shows that one of the most appealing aspects of Tulsa culture is the warm, welcoming hospitality and down-to-earth attitude of the locals. Their research found that many Tulsans are lifelong residents, and ties between locals are deep, as are ties to the cities in which they live.
But U.S. News has found that these bonds allow locals and immigrants to interact just as deeply.
The housing market sees a value score of 7.6, just $85,000 below the national market average of $281,900.
The job market has seen a negative appreciation of this value. The Northeast city’s unemployment rate is more than a percentage point higher than the national average of 5.3%, and its median household income is just nearly $7,500 below the national average.
The city is also ranked #82 as the best place to retire.
Which cities in the country have been ranked as the best cities to live in?
No Oklahoma city ranked in the top 10 nationally. The locations included are:
1: Naples, Florida 2: Boise, Idaho 3: Colorado Springs, Colorado 4: Greenville, South Carolina 5: Charlotte, North Carolina 6: Raleigh, North Carolina 7: Huntsville, Alabama 8: Virginia Beach, Virginia 9: Austin, Texas 10 : Boulder, Colorado
How were the cities chosen for the ranking?
The organization said the rankings were based on data from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, FBI, U.S. Department of Labor and internal resources at U.S. News & World Report.
Factors considered included the quality of life index, with a weighting of 32%; Value index weighted at 27%. Desirability index weighted at 19%. and the job market index is weighted at 22%.
According to the report’s authors, “The percentage weighting for each indicator was based on a February 2024 public survey in which people across the country voted on what they thought were the most important factors to consider when choosing where to live. We are following the answers.”
The full report is available online at https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/best-places-to-live.
