Denver Ranked As 2nd-Best Place To Live

DENVER (CBS4) - Can there be a better place to live than Colorado?

According to U.S. News & World Report, there is. But only one place. Austin, Texas.

In their recent rankings, U.S. News lists the Lone Star State's capital city as the only place better to live in the country than Denver, who received an overall score of 7.5 compared to Austin's 7.8.

U.S. News & World Report took several factors into consideration when compiling their rankings, including whether a city has a good value, is a desirable place to live, has a strong job market, as well as a high quality of life.

Denver received such a high ranking because of 'some great places for recreating within a 30-minute drive of downtown, such as Red Rocks Park and Cherry Creek State Park."

The legalization of marijuana was also listed as a bonus, because "Denver has seen a surge in cannabis-related commerce, from dispensaries to magazines to high-tech paraphernalia like vaporizers, rolling papers, lotions, and storage containers."

The compiled data "analyzed the 100 most populous metro areas to find the best places to live."

Rounding out the top ten cities are San Jose, CA, Washington, D.C., Fayetteville, AR, Seattle, WA, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Boston, MA, Des Moines, IA, and Salt Lake City, UT.

Colorado Springs came in as the eleventh-best place to live.