Olympia beats out more than 2,100 cities as one of top places to live

Olympia has been named as one of the top 100 United States cities to live in by Liveability.com, the website wrote in a release Tuesday.

The state capital is one of five cities from Washington to make the 2018 list, which surveyed nearly 2,300 cities with populations between 20,000 and 350,000, and ranked them based on economics, housing, demographics, education, health care and other factors.

Ann Arbor, Michigan tops the list, followed by Manhattan, Kansas and Corvallis, Oregon.

Olympia finished at No. 61, based on this analysis by Liveability.com:

“The capital of Washington, this small city offers vibrant culture, a charming downtown and a range of outdoor activities for residents.

“Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Tumwater Falls Park and Wolf Haven International are just three of many natural attractions, and Puget Sound provides fantastic views, boating opportunities and great seafood. The economy of Olympia is strong in education, government, health care and manufacturing, and diverse neighborhoods offer a variety of housing options and architectural styles.

“Olympia also earns high livability marks for its abundance of parks as well as The Evergreen State College, which offers local students more than 60 fields of study. In addition, residents here love to get involved in political and social causes — they take pride in improving the community, and it shows.”

Bellevue (No. 10), Pullman (No. 25), Kirkland (No. 40) and Bellingham (No. 73) were the other four cities in Washington to make the list.

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Olympia beats out more than 2,100 cities as one of top places to live."