Colorado Springs: Third-best city to live in, says study

According to WalletHub’s latest survey, Seattle is hot when it comes to being one of the best U.S. cities to live in, too.

Las Vegas scored average in livability and low in education, health, economic growth and tax rates.

People look to the cities despite the higher cost of square footage, the challenges of public school systems, and other trade offs because they like the hustle and bustle of city life, the greater job opportunities and more diverse entertainment and nightlife options. Only New York was behind Chicago in the latter category.

The report showed that cities on the West Coast and in the South generally ranked highest.

Las Vegas could learn a thing or two about good living from Austin, Texas, Raleigh, N.C., and Colorado Springs, Colo.

Virginia Beach is No. 10, bested by Lexington, Ky., and San Francisco, which tied for the No. eight spot.

The study appears to lean toward the large cities on the list being urban areas, citing census data about population growth outpacing suburbia. In all, the study took into account 31 key metrics to come up with the list.