California cities named best in the US — with two in the top 10 measured on three key metrics
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Lifestyle
California cities named best in the US — with two in the top 10 measured on three key metrics
By Kevin Barr Published July 1, 2026, 1:01 p.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The California Post on GoogleCalifornia’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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Don’t forget San Diego’s July 4 fiasco — then vote the bums out
Don't forget SD's July 4 fiasco — then vote the bums out- US News
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Skip to main content OpinionDon’t forget San Diego’s July 4 fiasco — then vote the bums out
By CA Post Editorial Board Published July 1, 2026, 9:57 p.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The California Post on GoogleRipped from the headlines of the satirical Babylon Bee:
A DEI extravaganza to mark the 250th birthday of the USA!
Oh wait.
That’s not the Bee; it’s actually a thing: San Diego County plans an identity-politics spectacular this July 4.
Wanna go?
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The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted this year to align the county’s Independence Day event with “equity and racial justice” goals.
Per a social media post from the mayor of El Cajon, the three-hour program will feature: a “tribal intimate blessing welcoming to land”; a tribal invocation; the American and black national anthems; local tribal community stories; Latino community stories; Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community stories; LGBTQIA+ community stories; and black and African community stories.
Whew. It’s exhausting just to read about.
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But more to the point: all of this … on July 4 of America’s 250th year? What message does the county of San Diego mean to send?
Not one that elevates fun, family, unity, respect, gratitude and patriotism — traditional Independence Day fare.
Instead, the county stoops to woke pandering.
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Extolling favored groups on the nation’s birthday is e pluribus unum in reverse: ex uno, plura.
It’s divisive. It’s ill-timed. And it’s disrespectful to the nation, to its founding values and to the US Armed Forces who have fought and sometimes died to guard the rights the grievance crowd takes for granted.
In the very recent past, Americans of all stars and stripes could agree on some things, including the Fourth of July and its fun family patriotic fare.
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Remember the iconic jingle, “We love baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet?”
Those were days when Americans united around major holidays, around a shared heritage of freedom and around pride in a country that’s the freest in the world.
No longer.
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These days, the scolds can’t be satisfied, the socialists win elections from New York to Colorado (unthinkable not long ago) and divisive Fourth of July programs emerge in once-moderate places like San Diego County.
Increasingly, elected officials want to shove a thumb in the eye of the nation, its founding, its traditions and its glory.
Enough.
Note to the radicals who rush to tear America down on perhaps its most cherished holiday:
Stop being petulant about losing national elections.
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Love your country even if you don’t love its current leader.
Teach, respect and appreciate the values of 1776: liberty, individual rights, equality, limited government and the rule of law.
Ditch the woke bilge and restore the picnics, US flags and fireworks.
Restore e pluribus unum.
Skip the lecture series and let the people have fun.
And a bonus memo to San Diego County voters: Remember this farce next election.
Just maybe, in another grand American tradition, you’ll do this:
Throw the bums out.
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