Original Portland outranks the Rose City on list of top 150 places to live
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In a battle of the Portlands, Oregon’s biggest city would suffer a tragic defeat from Portland, Maine — or at least that’s according to the rankings from U.S. News and World Report.
Every year, the media company lists the country’s 150 most populated cities based on livability. The latest edition of the Best Places to Live in the U.S. ranks several metro areas using metrics such as quality of life, value, job market, desirability and net migration.
Following top-ranking cities like Green Bay, Wis., Huntsville, Ala., Boulder, Colo., and Naples, Fla., the original Portland — in Maine — was named the seventh-best place to live overall. The city has also been recognized for being one of the best places for quality of life and one of the best places for safety.
Although the smaller Portland dominated the Rose City, Portland, Ore., ranked at No. 36 overall. This is a drop from its No. 22 ranking last year, but U.S. News and World Report still highlighted the Rose City for being a ‘well-rounded region’ that encourages individuality.
“Portland's population toes the line between an innocent playfulness and a shameless wild side,” the report said. “Naked bicycle rides, a fully costumed adult soapbox derby and Voodoo Doughnut – a bakery known for making one-of-a-kind donuts – is a sampling of ways residents live up to the unofficial city motto: ‘Keep Portland Weird.’”
The city was additionally recognized for its museums, art galleries, laidback locals, loyal sports fans and nearby outdoor activity options.
Here is how Portland rated in each category, out of 10.
- Desirability: 7.5
- Value: 5.2
- Job market: 6.3
- Quality of life: 6.7
- Net migration: 5.1
Eugene and Salem were the other Oregon cities that made the list, at No. 112 and No. 126 respectively. In Washington, Seattle was ranked at No. 81 and Spokane at No. 104.
Stockton and Bakersfield, Calif., and San Juan, Puerto Rico took the bottom three spots on the list.
U.S. News pulled data from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Labor and FBI.