Knoxville makes the list of 100 ‘best places to live’

Knoxville’s affordability, access to parks and love for sports earned it a spot on the latest list of “Top 100 Best Places to Live in America.”

Livability.com ranked the Scruffy City at No. 57 among small- to midsized cities, beating out its Tennessee neighbors Chattanooga and Nashville at No. 64 and No. 84, respectively, among a review of 1,000 American cities.

The site calculated its scores based on more than 40 data points, grouped into eight categories: amenities, demographics, education, economy, healthcare, housing, social and civic capital, and transportation and infrastructure.

Boise, Idaho topped this year’s list, followed by Raleigh, North Carolina and Madison, Wisconsin.

Knoxville earned particular accolades for its amenities, including dozens of public parks, farmers’ markets, music events and its year-round opportunities for die-hard sports fans (who love the Vols.) Livability tweaked its methodology a bit this year to place greater emphasis on affordability, instituting a cap on median home value at $250,000.

According to the site, Knoxville weighed in with $141,724.

Oddly enough, that’s a bit of jump from the $134,600 the site attributed to Knoxville when the city was ranked at No. 8 on Livability.com’s list of “Best Affordable Places to Live” last year.

Livability also recently recognized Knoxville as the No. 5 most recession

proof city in the United States.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel

The East Tennessee Economic Development Agency markets and recruits business for the 15 counties in the greater Knoxville-Oak Ridge region of East Tennessee. Visit www.eteda.org

 

Published March 22, 2019