Phoenix takes a tumble, places 26th in latest study of best places to live

Arizona's economy is humming, and the state has emerged as one of the top destinations for Americans seeking to relocate. Yet both Phoenix and Tucson dropped noticeably in a new study tracking the top places to live.

Phoenix ranked as the 26th best larger U.S. city in which to live, down from 19th place last year, in the study by U.S. News & World Report. Tucson finished in 76th place in the 2019 study of 125 metro areas. That was down from 67th place in last year's study.

Austin, Texas, finished as the top city for the third straight year. It was followed by Denver and Colorado Springs. Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Des Moines, Iowa, rounded out the top five.

San Juan, Puerto Rico, finished last, as it did last year. The island capital was slightly worse than two California cities, Bakersfield and Stockton.

The rankings are based on information gleaned in five key areas. They include job-market strength (20 percent of the scoring total), housing affordability (25 percent) and quality of life (30 percent), a broad category that includes local crime rates, access to and quality of health care, educational facilities, average commute times and more.

Another 10 percent is devoted to the net migration rate and 15 percent to an area's desirability, based on surveys of where people most want to live.

In the latest ranking, Phoenix was hurt most noticeably by a lower score in the broad quality-of-life category. The city's scores in the four other categories were either identical or only slightly different from last year.

The 2018 study had marked a major improvement for Phoenix, which jumped from 44th place in 2017.

Reach the reporter at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8616.