The best cities for living the American Dream in 2017

Updated

The definition of the American Dream will vary depending on who you ask. For some, it means a white picket fence, a trimmed green lawn and 2.5 children. For others, it means achieving your own personal goals and dreams, regardless of your background. Certainly the American Dream includes success and living a fulfilling life, whatever your definition may be. For the second year in a row, SmartAsset sought to find the best cities for living the American Dream.

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To find the cities where the American Dream is still alive and well, we started with the 261 largest cities for which we had data. Then we looked at each city's diversity and intergenerational economic mobility – both important factors when considering the American Dream. We also looked at homeownership rates, home values and the unemployment rate in these cities to see how their residents fared. For more on our data and how we ranked the cities, see the data and methodology below.

Key Findings

  • Tie for first. Aurora, Illinois and West Valley City, Utah are tied for the top spot in our study. Both cities ranked well across our metrics. Aurora stands out by having the fifth-highest mobility score overall, while West Valley City has the 14th-lowest unemployment rate.

  • Lone Star State. For the second year in a row, Texas dominates our study. The Lone Star State claims no fewer than 12 spots in the top 25.

  • The capital comes in last. In an ironic twist, Washington, D.C. was last in our overall American Dream index. Its diversity and mobility scores weren't enough to stand out and its unemployment rate was higher than the average. Further, the homeownership rate landed under 40%.

This is the 2017 edition of this study. Check out our 2016 analysis.

Data and Methodology

To determine the best cities for living the American Dream, SmartAsset looked at the largest 261 cities for which we had data. Last year's study we considered 250 cities.

We compared each city using the following metrics:

  • Diversity. To give each city a diversity score, we looked at the population percentages of different racial and ethnic groups. A lower number means a city is more diverse. This data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau.

  • Economic mobility. This metric looks at the changes in a family's social position between generations. A higher number means more mobility. This data comes from The Equality of Opportunity Project.

  • Homeownership rate. The homeownership rate looks at the percentage of homes that are owned by its inhabitants. This data comes from one-year estimates in the U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 American Community Survey (ACS).

  • Home value. This metric looks at the median home value in each city to indicate affordability. These numbers represent one-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 ACS. This is a change from last year's source, Zillow.

  • Unemployment rate. This metric looks at the unemployment rate by county. This data comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To determine our overall index, we ranked each city according to each of five metrics. Then we averaged those rankings, weighting each one equally. Those averages determined the overall final index. The city with the best average ranking scored a 100, while the lowest ranking city scored a 0.

Nick Wallace completed the data analysis for this study.

Questions about our study? Contact us at press@smartasset.com.

The post The Best Cities for Living the American Dream in 2017 appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.

Best Cities for Living the American Dream
Best Cities for Living the American Dream

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