The Rigorous Standard for
US City Quality of Life
UQLI™ US Edition provides transparent, traceable quality-of-life scores for 1,852 US cities — powered by genuine city-level data from CDC, Census ACS, FBI UCR, EPA, and TPL.
19 city-level indicators · 10 weighted dimensions · 1,852 US cities · Annual data cycle
Built for institutions that require rigorous, citeable urban data
City Governments
Benchmark your city with credibility
Access citable quality-of-life scores your council, mayor, and state partners can trust. Identify which dimensions are dragging your rank and take targeted action.
From Research planAcademic Researchers
The dataset your publication requires
19 city-level indicators from CDC PLACES and Census ACS — 10 weighted dimensions, annual data cycles, and peer-group comparisons across 1,852 US cities. Every score is fully traceable to primary source data.
From Research planConsulting & Advisory Firms
Deliver evidence-based city diagnostics
Run policy simulations and deliver evidence-based city diagnostics for client presentations. Used by firms advising municipal governments, state agencies, and real estate investors.
From Professional plan2025 Top US Cities
US Edition composite quality-of-life ranking — free preview
| Rank | City | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Riding, VA | 82.8 |
| 2 | Tysons, VA | 81.2 |
| 3 | Short Pump, VA | 80.7 |
| 4 | Oakton, VA | 80.4 |
| 5 | Upper Arlington, OH | 80.3 |
Where does your city rank?
Create a free account to view composite scores and city profiles. Research plan unlocks all 1,852 cities.
Search Your City →Top 50 US Cities by Quality of Life
2025 UQLI™ US Edition scores — click any city to view its profile
Rigorous by Design
A transparent, auditable methodology
UQLI™ scores are computed using a transparent, auditable pipeline — winsorized normalization, geometric mean aggregation, and data-coverage-derived confidence ratings. Every score ships with full methodology documentation.
19 City-Level Indicators
Sourced from CDC PLACES (health outcomes) and Census ACS (economic, housing, and education metrics) — all genuine place-level data
10 Dimensions
Health, Safety, Economy, Environment, Education, Mobility & Housing, Social, Governance, Wellbeing, and Digital
Winsorized Min-Max Normalization
Outliers are winsorized at the 5th/95th percentiles before 0–100 min-max scaling, preventing extreme values from distorting city rankings
Geometric Mean Composite
Penalizes extreme weakness in any single dimension — a city cannot hide poor performance
Confidence Ratings
High / Medium / Low ratings derived from indicator data coverage — published alongside every composite score
Annual Data Cycle
2025 cycle live — transparent version history and publicly documented methodology
How UQLI™ Works
From public data to publishable insight — in four steps
Explore Free
Browse the top-10 US city ranking and view composite scores — no subscription required.
FreeDrill Into Dimensions
Access all 10 dimension breakdowns, 23 city-level indicators, and peer-group comparisons across all 1,852 US cities.
ResearchSimulate Policy
Adjust dimension scores to model the UQLI™ impact of real-world investments and reforms.
ProfessionalExport & Cite
Download citable methodology documentation, CSV datasets, and API access for publications and presentations.
ProfessionalReady to benchmark your city?
Explore the free ranking or speak with our team about institutional access.
Research plans from $3,000/yr · Professional from $18,000/yr · Enterprise custom pricing