Put simply, Cities Ranked & Rated compares places to live. The book offers a rich set of comparative facts and figures
on 403 North American cities—376 in the United States and 27 in Canada. Comparisons start with the facts, which are
then blended with a subjective assessment of a place’s image, character, and overall quality of life, to determine each
city’s rank in relation to the others.
This book is useful for the following:
■ Immediate voluntary (or involuntary) relocation. Many are looking to relocate to somewhere better suited to
their immediate needs, tastes, and financial means. Others make career-change or migration decisions based on
job opportunities. A move may involve a lifestage change, such as graduation from college, marriage, arrival of
children, or retirement. Statistically, by a slim margin, job or career issues are the number one reason cited for
relocation. See the sidebar “Moving: The Reasons Why,” at the end of this introduction, for more details.
■ Long-term planning. This book can help to build a career, financial, or retirement plan that eventually results
in a move to an ideal place. By studying and comparing places as they are today, readers can track what happens
with those places as their plans unfold.
■ Business relocation/site selection. Entrepreneurs are interested in the business and tax climates of different
places, and want to go where other people are going and know why they’re going there.
■ Curiosity and reference. Cities Ranked & Rated provides statistics and analysis in an accessible package
not available in one place anywhere else. People wanting to learn more about an area can use it as a reference.
