COLORADO NEWS

Colorado shines bright: 2 of the nation’s ‘Top 25 Places to Live’ are here!

Mar 2, 2024, 4:50 PM | Updated: Mar 23, 2024, 7:42 am

Colorado shines bright: 2 of the nation’s ‘Top 25 Places to Live’ are here!

Boulder has the second highest quality of life in the country according to a new study from U.S. News and World Report.

The ranking considers various factors such as crime rates, education quality, and well-being. Boulder, with a metropolitan population of slightly over 320,000, is renowned for being home to the University of Colorado Boulder, the largest university in the state.

Consequently, it is unsurprising that Boulder holds the distinction of being the most educated metropolitan area in the United States, with 63% of individuals aged 25 and above possessing a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Colorado shines bright: 2 of the nation's 'Top 25 Places to Live' are here!

Getty Images

U.S. News highlights the abundance of nature in and around Boulder as one of its notable features. Additionally, U.S. News acknowledges the vibrant downtown scene in Boulder, particularly the Boulder County Farmers Market, which operates from April to November.

Colorado shines bright: 2 of the nation's 'Top 25 Places to Live' are here!

Getty Images

Fort Collins, also made the top 25, coming in at No. 15.

The top 10 places with the highest quality of life:

  1. Ann Arbor, Michigan
  2. Boulder
  3. Madison, Wisconsin
  4. San Jose, California
  5. Portland, Maine
  6. Boston
  7. Green Bay, Wisconsin
  8. Hartford, Connecticut
  9. Rochester, New York
  10. Trenton, New Jersey
Colorado shines bright: 2 of the nation's 'Top 25 Places to Live' are here!

Getty Images

The report describes Boulder:

Snug against the foothills where the Great Plains give rise to the Rocky Mountains, Boulder is nothing if not a looker. This city reveals its spectacle at the crest of a hill on U.S. Route 36 from Denver with its iconic sandstone slabs rising from the mountains, prefaced by pine-clad mesas and cradled within the backdrop of the snow-capped Indian Peaks.

See the entire list of cities here

Colorado News

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

Denver’s free meal program for kids is back at 19 sites across the city all summer

School’s out, but lunch is still served. Denver’s Tasty Food program launched this week, offering free meals to any child ages 3 to 18 at 19 locations across the city […]

3 hours ago

Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

A flight left Denver’s airport this weekend, the toilet erupted, and it had to turn around

If you thought your Monday was going bad… It could always be worse, like it was for the poor folks on a Turkish Airlines flight at of Denver International Airport […]

3 hours ago

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

Riley Green announces his biggest Colorado show yet with September date at Fiddler’s Green

Riley Green is quickly becoming one of country music’s biggest stars, and the venues he’s playing in Colorado are reflecting that! Green is bringing his “Cowboy As It Gets Tour” […]

3 hours ago

Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images...

Shawn Patrick

Colorado’s most misspelled word in 2026 is really embarrassing

A 14-year-old from California just rattled off 32 words in 90 seconds — including “bromocriptine,” “taurokathapsia” and “cywyddau” — to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Meanwhile, a new study […]

4 hours ago

CISARUA, INDONESIA - FEBRUARY 26:   Paramedic and animal keeper Sri Wahyuningsih feeds 5-month-old ...

Big Mic

Denver Zoo needs help naming new baby orangutan

Last week, the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance welcomed a baby Sumatran orangutan to their family, and now they need help naming it. The Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance’s happy mom Hesty […]

8 hours ago

ROLLING MEADOWS, ILLINOIS - MAY 21:  Gas prices are displayed at a station on May 21, 2026 in Rolli...

Brailey Jones

Gas prices drop nearly $.50 cents

As summer travel kicks off, the price of gas has been on the top of everyone’s mind. Well, there was some relief this week as the Denver metro area saw […]

10 hours ago

Colorado shines bright: 2 of the nation’s ‘Top 25 Places to Live’ are here!