The secret is out. Olympia ranks among top 25 places to live in the West. Here’s why
The City of Olympia has yet again been identified by community researchers as one of the best places to live in the country. This year the city ranked third in the top 25 places to live in the Western U.S. by Livability.com.
The website’s top city to live in the West is Salt Lake City, with Fort Collins, Colorado, coming in second.
Each year the online community-researching resource publishes a list of the top 100 places to live in the country based on local data on median income, job opportunities, recreation and more. In 2022, Olympia ranked 15th in the country with a ‘LivScore’ of 647 out of 1,000. This year it didn’t receive a score, but the top city was Johns Creek, Georgia, with a score of 877.
Olympia’s neighbor city Tacoma made this year’s list with a score of 709. Spokane and Vancouver also made the list with scores of 747 and 782, respectively.
The site calls Olympia a home for skilled craftsmen, from “brilliant chefs and coffee roasters to brewers and vintners.” And it says the city has ample job opportunities, especially in state and local government. The educational opportunities in and around the city also helped it earn its ranking.
With the city’s location on the southern tip of Puget Sound, it gets props for its views of the water and mountains. The state Capitol Campus, which has gardens and monuments to explore, and the downtown’s colorful murals and the city’s arts and culture scene also are mentioned in the ranking.
This story was originally published August 22, 2023 at 12:01 PM.
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