New York, June 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As American cities navigate a shrinking talent pool, structural shifts in how people work and live, and an increasingly crowded competitive field, Resonance Consultancy, a leading advisor in place branding, placemaking and place marketing, today released its America’s Best Cities ranking and report for 2026.
In its 10th year, it is the most comprehensive study of U.S. urban competitiveness ever published.
For the first time, the ranking evaluates all 393 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas – expanding from metros with 500,000 or higher evaluated in prior editions.
New York retained the #1 position with top rankings across all three pillars: Livability (#1), Lovability (#1), and Prosperity (#1). Los Angeles held #2 and Chicago held #3, a reflection of the gravitational force of scale, economic complexity, and cultural depth that no other American cities can yet match.
The 2026 report combines core statistical performance data, global user-generated data, and new proprietary research including a landmark Ipsos survey of more than 2,000 U.S. households to create the nation’s most comprehensive city ranking.
“American cities have never competed harder for what matters most: residents, visitors, talent, and investment,” said Chris Fair, President & CEO of Resonance Consultancy.
“The forces reshaping where people choose to live, work, and travel are accelerating, and the cities that understand their competitive position are better equipped to respond. Those that don’t risk ceding ground to rivals they may not have considered rivals at all.”
The Top 25 America’s Best Cities for 2026 are:
- New York, NY
- Los Angeles, CA
- Chicago, IL
- Miami, FL
- San Francisco, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Las Vegas, NV
- Dallas, TX
- Houston, TX
- Boston, MA
- Austin, TX
- San Diego, CA
- Atlanta, GA
- Washington, D.C.
- Orlando, FL
- Denver, CO
- Nashville, TN
- Portland, OR
- Phoenix, AZ
- Philadelphia, PA
- Tampa, FL
- Charlotte, NC
- New Orleans, LA
- San Antonio, TX
- Pittsburgh, PA
Full profiles of all Top 50 cities are available here.
The 2026 America’s Best Cities report and rankings arrive at a pivotal moment for U.S. urban competitiveness, with six big insights:
- The U.S. is entering its slowest population growth era on record. The CBO’s latest projection – 350 million to just 367 million by 2055 – is the smallest the agency has ever published, and net international migration fell 54% in a single year. The pool of working-age talent that cities are competing for is shrinking.
- The competitive field has never been wider. The number of distinct cities appearing in Americans’ top-three choices for where to live, visit, or work grew from 99 in 2024 to 115 in 2026.
- Economic growth and migration are concentrated in the South and Mountain West. The Southwest grew real GDP 26% over five years versus a national average of 18%. Florida led county-level net migration at +9.1%, followed by Idaho (+8.4%) and Tennessee (+7.7%) – and IRS data confirms these same states are gaining the most high-earning movers.
- Performance and Perception Are Not the Same City. Of the Top 100 cities, 43 are performing better than they are perceived, 38 are perceived as more desirable than their data would justify, and 19 are roughly aligned.
- Prosperity Drives Migration – and Migration Drives Perception. The states that led real economic growth between 2020 and 2025 – Florida at 30%, Texas at 28%, Nevada at 27% – are the same states whose counties show the most sustained adjusted gross income inflows.
- Where You Want to Visit Shapes Where You Want to Live. The correlation between lovability perception and livability perception reached 0.97 in 2026 – the highest ever recorded. Across 75% of cities, changes in livability perception over the past two years closely tracked changes in lovability perception.
How the Ranking Was Built
The Place Power™ Score, Resonance’s proprietary methodology, evaluated each city’s performance and perception across three core pillars:
- Livability (walkability, bikeability, weather, climate risk, air quality, green space, sights and landmarks, nature and parks, public transit, internet connectivity, standard of living, and health)
- Lovability (Google Trends, Facebook check-ins, Instagram posts, TikTok videos, Reddit engagement, museums, nightlife, shopping, restaurants, theaters and concerts, and family-friendly attractions)
- Prosperity (economic strength, labor force participation, educational attainment, airport connectivity, convention infrastructure, and Fortune 500 headquarters)
This year’s methodology incorporates climate resilience measures including AlphaGeo’s resilience-adjusted climate risk score, and expands social listening to include TikTok and Reddit alongside Instagram, reflecting where real discovery conversations are happening. The national perception survey, conducted in partnership with Ipsos, used open-ended questions – not prompted rankings – to identify which cities have genuinely earned their reputation.
The full 2026 America’s Best Cities report is available here.
About Resonance Consultancy
Resonance creates transformative strategies, brands and campaigns that empower destinations, cities and communities to realize their full potential. As leading advisors in real estate, tourism and economic development, Resonance combines expertise in research, strategy, branding and communications to make destinations, cities and developments more valuable and more vibrant. ResonanceCo.com
About Ipsos
Ipsos is one of the largest market research and polling companies globally, operating in 90 markets and employing nearly 20,000 people. Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. Our 75 business solutions are based on primary data from our surveys, social media monitoring, and qualitative or observational techniques. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has been listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1, 1999. www.ipsos.com
About Best Cities
Best Cities is the global authority in forward-looking city intelligence, powered by Resonance. Our insight is used by leading news outlets and trusted by city leaders to unlock the power in urban data to identify opportunities for regions, cities, and companies. The Best Cities rankings span global, U.S., European and Asia-Pacific indexes and reports, and are widely considered to be the world’s most comprehensive. Bloomberg calls it, “The most comprehensive study of its kind; it identifies cities that are most desirable for locals, visitors, and businesspeople alike, rather than simply looking at livability or tourism appeal.” WorldsBestCities.com | #BestCities
Attachments
Tom Gierasimczuk Resonance Consultancy 604-649-8664 tom@resonanceco.com
Media gallery
