Kirkland is the 3rd best city to live in the USA (and Sammamish ain't too shabby either)

Money Magazine says Kirkland is the third best place to live in the United States.

The personal finance magazine looked at nine factors to come up with its list of the nation's top 50 cities, including things like the cost of living, education, and economic opportunities along with the local housing market and quality of life.

Atlanta came in first place on the list, followed by Tempe, Arizona. Some Northwest neighbors also made the list: Boise, Idaho is 11th; Hillsboro, Oregon is 23rd; and Camas, Washington is 32nd.

For 2022, Money Magazine says it attempted to take a more equitable look at U.S. communities. As The Seattle Times notes, the magazine acknowledged its past rankings have showcased "quaint, affordable — and unintentionally yet overwhelmingly white” cities. This time around, the magazine says it factored for "national heritage, languages spoken at home and religious diversity — in addition to the metrics we already gather on racial diversity."

To make the grade, cities on the list had to have a population of at least 20,000 people, be as least 85% as racially diverse as its state, and have a median household income of 85% of the state's median. Add all that up and Kirkland comes in third.

Money Magazine states: "Kirkland is easy on the eyes, to put it mildly. Sitting on the edge of sparkling Lake Washington, residents enjoy views of both Mount Rainier and the Seattle skyline. But it’s not just looks that give locals bragging rights. They describe the Seattle suburb as a family-friendly, community-focused town with great schools and employment opportunities."

The magazine does concede that Kirkland is considerably lacking in one category — affordability. Though, as the magazine puts it, Kirkland residents "pay a premium" to live there. By that, it means that it costs about $2,000 to rent an apartment, and about $1 million to buy a home. But this affordability issue is offset by the very high wages in the area.

Not to be outshined, Kirkland's neighbor down the road, Sammamish, just ranked in the 99th percentile of best small U.S. cities (top of the list), according to WalletHub.

Sammamish technically comes in 12th on WalletHub's list, which took into account cities with between 25,000 and 100,000 people, and aspects like affordability, economy, and safety, as well as quality of life, which breaks down to things like coffee shops per capita.

Redmond, Issaquah, and Mercer Island also rank high, but only make it into the 98th, 97th, and 96th percentiles respectively. Kirkland is in the 95th percentile on WalletHub's list.