The Best Place to Own a HomeIN AMERICA
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Where US cities rankOverallkeyboard_arrow_down
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clearOverall rankings are based on a composite of a city’s scores in each individual category.
WorstBest
Did you know?
Three different Ohio cities (Toledo, Dayton and Akron) rank in the top 10 worst places to own a home in America.
Houston ranks #1 in economic opportunity, with only 4.1% unemployment and massive hiring in the construction industry.
Birmingham ranked as having the least opportunity for educational advancement of any US city.
Denver gets the gold medal, ranking the #1 best place to own a home in America with exceptional scores in climate and healthy living.
Los Angeles and San Francisco residents feel the least safe in their cities, ranking them among the 10 worst cities for crime & safety.
People with PhDs tend to live in the most walkable cities, like New York and San Jose. People with less education? The opposite.
Tucson and Las Vegas residents ranked most confident in the local real estate market. Surprising? Las Vegas home prices are up 10% since the summer of 2014.
Nationwide, fewer than 10% of Americans regret buying a home in their city, with Coloradans being the least regretful.
Buying a home is a good idea, unless you’re in Lakeland: a whopping 21% of Lakeland, FL residents regret buying their home.
How we collected the data

The Best Place To Own A Home In America survey polled a representative sample of 10,007 US homeowners across a variety of dimensions including safety, climate, commute times, access to education, taxes, real estate trends and more to gauge homeowners’ sentiment about the and communities where they live. Additionally, we partnered with Redfin real estate agents to garner local knowledge about some of the discussed in the results. The survey was conducted in July and August of 2015. Copies of the full methodology report are available upon request. Please email Porch’s Senior Vice President & Head of Communications, Craig Cincotta, at craig@porch.com for a copy of the report.

Commute
clearHow would you rate your daily commute? How would you grade the quality of the public transportation systems where you live?
Tax Fairness
clearHow fair or unfair do you feel tax rates are where you live?
Walkability
clearHow walkable or unwalkable are amenities like shopping, restaurants, grocery stores, parks, gyms, recreational facilities, nightlife etc. from where you live?
Healthy Living
clearTo what degree does your local community promote living a healthy lifestyle?
Climate
clearHow positively or negatively does the local weather and climate where you live impact your everyday life? To what degree are worried about the negative impact of natural disasters where you live (hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.)?
Real Estate Confidence
clearTo what degree do you expect real estate prices to increase or decrease where you live over the next five years?
Educational Opportunity
clearHow accessible are higher education opportunities (technical school, community college, university, etc.) for people in your local community?
Resident Satisfaction
clearDo you regret buying a home where you live? Would you recommend a friend to live where you live?
Economic Opportunity
clearHow confident are you in the local economy to provide jobs and continued opportunities to you and your neighbors?
Security & Safety
clearDo you feel safe in your home? To what degree are you concerned with crime in your neighborhood since you’ve lived in your home? How much confidence do you have in the local police to protect you and your neighbors from crime?
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