San Francisco

Berkeley is the Third Best City to Live in America: Report

What to Know

  • The city of Berkeley was ranked No. 3 on Niche's Best Cities to Live in America after scoring big in housing trends, employment and commute
  • San Francisco came in at No. 15 with high scores in weather and diversity but low scores in housing and safety
  • Sunnyvale, at No. 19, received a high score in 'good for families' but scored low in cost of living

Three Bay Area cities were in the top 20 of Niche’s list of Best Cities to Live in America with the city of Berkeley taking the third spot.

According to the ranking and review site, Berkeley scored big in categories like commute, quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, weather, nightlife and employment statistic, among others.

The urban city came at No. 1 in Healthiest Cities in America as well as Healthiest Places to Live in America. Not much of a surprise given it received an A+ for health and fitness and an A for outdoor actives.

Berkeley’s ethnic and economic diversity received an A+ as 39 percent of residents have a master’s degree or higher, 33 percent a bachelor’s and 17 percent some college or associate’s degree.

With a median household income of $70,393, median home value of $795,200 and median rent value of $1,434, Berkeley is one of the more affordable Bay Area cities.

Berkeley was only outranked by two cities — Ann Arbor in Michigan and Naperville in Illinois.

Others Bay cities in the top 20 were San Francisco and Sunnyvale.

San Francisco came in at No. 15 for receiving A+’s in weather, nightlife, diversity and outdoor activities but a C- in housing and a C in crime and safety.

Sunnyvale, at No. 19, received an A+ in "good for families" but a D+ in cost of living.

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