This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Multiple California cities and neighborhoods were ranked among the “best” places to live in the nation, according to Niche’s 2023 rankings.

City Center in Santa Monica was ranked as the sixth “best” city to live in, while Mid-City, another neighborhood in Santa Monica, was the 15th .

The majority of California cities considered the “best” places to live are affluent areas, such as Santa Monica and Palo Alto.

For example, the median price of a home in Santa Monica is $2 million and an average price in Palo Alto is $3.5 million, according to Realtor.com.

Out of the 17,916 cities and neighborhoods included in the ranking, Los Angeles was considered to be the 8,770th “best” place to live.

Some California cities included on the list:

6th: City Center (Santa Monica)

15th: Mid-City (Santa Monica)

18th: University South (Palo Alto)

24th: Wilshire/ Montana (Santa Monica)

28th: North Downtown (Palo Alto)

31st: Ocean Park (Santa Monica)

52nd: Ventura (Palo Alto)

58th: Evergreen Park (Palo Alto)

 59th: Barron Park(Palo Alto)

90th: Midtown (Palo Alto)

95th: Downtown Berkeley (Berkeley)

The complete list can be viewed here.

Researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Census, FBI, Bureau of Labor Statistics and CDC, along with millions of resident reviews, to determine the ranking.

Researchers also looked at multiple factors including affordability, walkability, the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends and employment statistics.

The Top 10 best places to live in the U.S.

  1. Chesterbrook (Pennsylvania)
  2. Colonial Village (Virginia)
  3. Ardmore, (Pennsylvania)
  4. Hyde Park–Spanishtown Creek (Florida)
  5. Penn Wynne (Pennsylvania)
  6. City Center (California)
  7. Cambridgeport (Massachusetts)
  8. North Quarter (Florida)
  9. Devon (Pennsylvania)
  10. Great Neck Gardens (New York)