Not one Central Coast city made this list

Niche, a ranking and review site, came out with its 2017 Best Cities to Live list and not one city on the Central Coast landed on the list of 100.

Ouch. Central Coast cities are no slouches when it comes to lists.

Earlier this spring, a Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index placed the Santa Cruz region as the highest ranking metro area in California. The distinction made the New York Times with the headline, “Want to be Happy? Move to Santa Cruz!” (Of course, KION did the story, too. #ICUMI: click here)

Capitola came in 7th in a 2016 Coastal Living list of “America’s Happiest Seaside Towns.”

Conde Nast Traveler magazine placed Carmel among the “Top Cities in the United States” as part of an annual Readers’ Choice Awards.

Then there’s Salinas. It ranked number three in a top ten list “Coziest Cities in America.”

Niche, which helps people explore neighborhoods and schools online, came up with the ranking to provide “a comprehensive assessment of the overall livability of an area at the city level.” Using data from the U.S. Census, FBI, CDC and other sources, the grade took into account everything from the quality of schools, crime rates, housing trends and employment.

While Santa Cruz and Monterey and Salinas did not make the Niche list, Provo, Utah did, coming in at #44. San Jose placed #88 and outrageously expensive San Francisco landed at #25. SF Bay Area migration favorite Seattle was #25 and Austin, TX did even better at #22.

Here’s a list of the top 5 Niche Best Places to Live:

1. Ann Arbor, MI
2. Naperville, IL
3. Arlington, VA
4. Columbia, MD
5. Berkeley, CA

To check out Niche’s complete list, click here: