This Georgia town is the best place to live in US, rankings show. It might surprise you
A Georgia town has earned the top spot on “Money” magazine’s annual list of best places to live in America for 2020.
Evans, Georgia, a city of 36,000 located 10 minutes northwest of Augusta beat out 49 other U.S. cities for the coveted title. “Money” describes Evans as a “fast-growing town with a welcoming atmosphere and southern charm.”
“Of all the U.S. towns and cities we looked at this year, Evans had the lowest cost of living of any place with similarly high income levels,” according to the personal finance website. “Evans has been fast attracting new arrivals with plenty of good-paying jobs in health care, administration and the military nearby.”
The town also earned high marks for its access to health care (nearby Augusta has 11 hospitals), low unemployment, top performing schools and diversity, according to the report.
Longtime resident and parent Demetric Hillman said she was “pleasantly surprised” by the community’s response after the death of George Floyd, 46, sparked nationwide protests and demands for racial justice.
Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died in police custody May 25 when a Minneapolis officer knelt on his neck as three fellow officers failed to intervene. All four were ultimately charged in Floyd’s death.
“I just saw a level of community involvement I’ve never seen before,” Hillman, who’s Black, told “Money.” “Those are the things that draw more diversity and great families [who] just want that place for their kids to grow up.”
Evans wasn’t the only Georgia city to land on the list of best places to live compiled by “Money” magazine. Woodstock, located about 30 minutes north of Atlanta, earned the No. 17 spot.
To come up with its rankings, “Money” examined U.S. cities and towns with populations of at least 25,000 and collected over 210,000 data points about a location’s economy, housing market, diversity, education, health, safety and others.
“Our team of reporters then researched every location to ensure that the statistics were a true representation of each place, and that other negative factors weren’t at play,” according to the report.
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 6:50 PM with the headline "This Georgia town is the best place to live in US, rankings show. It might surprise you."