Cities are recognized in many ways, often developing reputations based on what they achieve for their communities, or what they can offer to visitors or new residents.  It’s natural to be curious as to which cities are good for singles, or offer the most affordable homes, or are just great places to live -- especially when you are thinking about relocating. 

So, it’s no surprise that lists which rank cities on everything from allergies to walking are popular.  While the National League of Cities doesn’t necessarily endorse these rankings or vouch for their scientific methodology, we have compiled a sampling of the city rankings which are available.

If you know of a list that we might want to add to this compilation, please send an email to mrs@nlc.org.

CHILDREN

America's Best Places to Raise a Family
These family friendly places were ranked by Forbes to include great school districts as well as lower cost of living and housing and reasonable commute times.
http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/06/27/schools-places-family-forbeslife-cz_zg_0630realestate.html

Playful City USA
Given by the KaBoom organization, this recognition is given to cities who provide “a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America”.
http://www.kaboom.org/Advocate/PlayfulCityUSA/tabid/159/Default.aspx

Best City to have Baby Revealed
This study, by Fit Pregnancy magazine, ranked the 50 largest cities based on census population estimates as the top places to have a baby.
http://www.nbc4.com/print/15102993/detail.html

100 Best Communities for Young People
The America’s Promise Alliance and Capital One announce the winners of 2008 competition which identifies cities and towns nationwide that have made the well-being of children and you’re a top priority.
http://www.americaspromise.org/APAPage.aspx?id=9850

100 Best Small Cities
Small Cities with populations of 50,000 to 300,000 are ranked on criteria such as family purchasing power, property taxes, job growth, student test scores, cultural amenities, weather, and health issues.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008

ENVIRONMENT

Top Ten Snowiest, Coldest and Windiest Cities
Blue Canyon, CA, gets 240.8 inches of snow a year.
http://www.joson.com/gen-infor/snows.htm

Top Ten Green Cities in the U.S. 2006
These cities' green achievements set the standards for others.
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/113/top10cities

HEALTH

Worst Cities for Allergies
If you suffer from allergies, you may want to think twice before visiting these cities, identified by Forbes.com.
http://www.forbes.com/home/health/2006/05/25/allergy-capital-cities_cx_sy_0526health.html

Best Walking Cities
Tops on the list of what makes a place “fitness walker friendly” are safe streets, beautiful places to walk, mild weather, and good air quality.
http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/the-best-walking-cities-of-2007/6cd08169c1903110VgnVCM20000012281eac____/fitness/walking/walking.goals/walking.and.your.health

America's Most Sinful Cities
They say geography is destiny, but perhaps it is damnation as well. Forbs has unveiled the American city that has fallen the farthest from grace in each of the seven deadly sins.
http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2008/02/14/cities-sinful-lander-forbeslife-cx_lm_0213sinful_land.html

QUALITY OF LIFE

America’s Most Livable City
Cities are rated by nine categories: housing affordability (cost of living); transportation; jobs; education; climate; crime; health care; recreation; and ambience (museums, performing arts, restaurants and historical districts).
http://www.placesrated.com/

10 Best U.S. Cities for Singles
The 40 largest U.S. metropolitan centers are ranked in seven areas: nightlife, culture, job growth, number of other singles, cost of living alone, coolness and online dating activity.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0707/gallery.BPTL_most_singles.moneymag/index.html

25 Top Earning Towns
Residents of these 25 places have the highest median household incomes in the country.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0707/gallery.BPTL_highest_income.moneymag/

Best Performing Cities
This index ranks U.S. metros based on their ability to create and sustain jobs.
http://www.milkeninstitute.org/research/research.taf?cat=indexes&function=detail&ID=30&type=BPC

Best Places to Retire
Bankrate has rounded up key statistics on 62 popular retirement spots.  This site highlighted 30 of them.
http://money.aol.com/bankrate/retirement/retirement-hot-spots-compare-the-costs

America’s Most Literate Cities
These rankings are provided by Central Connecticut State University.
http://www.ccsu.edu/Amlc/Overall_Rankings/Top10.htm

Top 10 Dog-Friendly Cities
This list focuses on cities with populations greater than 100,000 in the United States and Canada.
http://newsblaze.com/story/2006040506500000003.mwir/topstory.html

REAL ESTATE

Great Places in America
The American Planning Association celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning for Streets and Neighborhoods. http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/mediacoverage.htm

100 Best Places to Live
CNNMoney.com focused on smaller places that offered the best combination of economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a real sense of community.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/top100/

Where Homes are Affordable
Homeowners in these towns see their incomes go the farthest.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0707/gallery.BPTL_most_affordable.moneymag/

10 Hot Cities for Job Growth
Seems like sunny suburbs are the best places to find fast-growing job markets.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/02/technology/business2_nextjobboom_hotcities/index.htm

10 Rising-In-Value Real Estate
Home prices nationwide posted their biggest drop in 16 years, but not in these cities.
http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/08/homes-housing-property-forbeslife-cz_do_1108housing.html

MISCELLANEOUS

Most Misspelled Cities in America
Pittsburgh is the most misspelled city in America.
http://www.epodunk.com/top10/misspelled/index.html