Last year, US News and World Report ranked Boulder as the 4th-best place to live in the United States in their annual report that compares the 150 largest metro areas around the country. While Boulder slipped in the 2024 publication of the prestigious analysis, another Colorado city climbed to rank 3rd nationwide.

Behind only Naples, Florida and Boise, Idaho, Colorado Springs ranked as the 3rd ‘best place to live’ among the country’s largest metros this year, climbing from a 9th-place rank last year. The city’s high level of desirability and ‘value index score’ – which considers affordability – helped to propel the Front Range spot upward.

Meanwhile, Boulder dropped in ranking, but not by much – from 4th-place last year to 10th-place this year.

The Fort Collins area also dropped in ranking – from 23rd to 39th.

While the Denver metro area ranked the lowest of the four Colorado metros included in the report, the Mile High City saw a significant jump in its ranking compared to where it was at in 2023. In 2023, Denver was ranked as the 99th-best metro for living in America, compared to 40th in the 2024 ranking – a leap of 59 placement spots.

The worst ranking metro nationwide was San Juan, Puerto Rico, followed by Detroit, Michigan.

Last year, the top three ranking metros were Green Bay, Wisconsin, Huntsville, Alabama, and Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina, which fell to 12th, 7th, and 6th, respectively in the 2024 report.

Find the full rankings here.