Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh among best U.S. cities in 2026 rankings. Here’s why
Pittsburgh ranks among the top 25 best places to live, work and visit in the U.S., according to a new report.
The 2026 “America’s Best Cities” report from Resonance, an international business consulting company, ranks the top 100 U.S. metro areas overall based on factors such as economic data, quality of living and public perception. Pittsburgh scored in the top quarter of cities nationwide.
Here’s a breakdown of how Pittsburgh ranks.
Pittsburgh ranks among top U.S. cities
Overall, Pittsburgh scored at No. 25 among U.S. cities.
Top-scoring cities almost all “made the visitor and resident experience a strategic priority,” according to the report. Rankings were also further broken down based on each key scoring components.
Pittsburgh has put a focus on its cultural amenities and food scene, as well as in revitalizing its neighborhoods, the report noted. While other similarly sized cities in the ranking have fallen, Pittsburgh climbed by five spots in 2026.
Pittsburgh among best cities for livability
Pittsburgh scored at No. 24 among U.S. cities for its livability.
The report’s livability scores were ranked in accordance to the quality of daily life in a city based on factors such as walkability, transit access, air quality, climate risk, green space, housing costs relative to income, broadband connectivity, healthcare access and life expectancy, as well as if the location is somewhere people would want to live.
Pittsburgh ranks in top 30 cities for lovability, prosperity
Pittsburgh ranked among the top 30 U.S. cities for both its lovability and its prosperity, scoring at No. 26 for lovability and No. 28 for prosperity.
Lovability was scored based on factors like the quality and quantity of venues such as restaurants, arts and entertainment sites, museums, outdoor experiences and nightlife. Digital data such as search trends, social media activity and other user-generated content was also considered.
Prosperity rankings were based on factors such as gross domestic product per capita, labor force participation, innovation capital intensity, educational attainment, unemployment and poverty rates, the presence of major corporate headquarters, university quality and the number of direct air connections.
Philadelphia ranked just a few spots above Pittsburgh at No. 20 overall.
Top 10 cities in 2026 ‘Best Cities’ ranking
The top 10 cities in the ranking are:
- New York, NY
- Los Angeles, CA
- Chicago, IL
- Miami, FL
- San Francisco, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Las Vegas, NV
- Dallas, TX
- Houston, TX
- Boston, MA
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.