California cities named best in the US — with two in the top 10 measured on three key metrics

California’s biggest cities are still among the best in America — with two Golden State metros landing in the top five of a new national ranking.

Los Angeles was named the second-best city in the US, while San Francisco came in fifth in an annual ‘America’s Best Ciites 2026’ list put together by Resonance. It ranked the country’s top 100 cities based on three pillars: livability, lovability and prosperity.

New York City took the top spot, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and San Francisco to round out the top five.

Seattle ranked sixth, followed by Las Vegas, Dallas, Houston and Boston.

The report said the top of the list remained largely stable, with New York, Los Angeles and Chicago once again holding the top three spots because of their “scale, economic complexity, and cultural depth.”

Los Angeles performed especially well across the board, ranking No. 2 nationally in livability, lovability and prosperity — the same spot it held in the overall ranking.

San Francisco also held firm near the top, ranking fifth overall, with a No. 5 livability ranking, No. 10 lovability ranking and No. 7 prosperity ranking. The report described San Francisco and Seattle as the West Coast’s “technology anchors,” citing their strength as places to work.

The 2026 report ranked all 393 US metropolitan statistical areas for the first time, weighing both how cities actually perform and how they are perceived by the public.

Livability measured quality of life factors including walkability, transit access, air quality, climate risk, green space, housing costs relative to income, broadband access, healthcare access and life expectancy.

Lovability measured a city’s cultural draw, including restaurants, arts and entertainment venues, museums, outdoor experiences, nightlife, social media activity, search trends and “user-generated content.”

Prosperity measured economic strength and opportunity, including GDP per capita, labor force participation, innovation, education, unemployment and poverty rates, corporate headquarters, university quality and direct air connections.

Other California cities also made the top 100, with San Diego ranking 12th overall, San Jose coming in 29th and Sacramento landing at No. 47.

The report found that cities are no longer judged only by whether they are affordable or functional, but by whether people actually want to be there.

Resonance said a major finding from this year’s report was the gap between how livable a city is on paper and how livable people think it is, with lovability playing an outsized role in shaping a city’s reputation.

That helped push California’s largest metros to the top of the list, despite well-known struggles over housing costs, office vacancies and outmigration.

Los Angeles County saw a 4.3% cumulative net migration loss from 2020 to 2025, while San Francisco was down 6.1% over the same period — though San Francisco posted a small positive net migration figure in 2024-2025, its first in years, according to the report.

Still, the rankings suggest California’s biggest cities remain national heavyweights when it comes to culture, jobs and global appeal.

Resonance framed the ranking as a measure of what makes a city competitive in the modern era — not just whether residents can afford housing or reach a park, but whether the city “resonates” with people deciding where to live, visit and build a career.

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