Why Naples, Florida, Is the Best Place to Live in 2024-2025
This southwest Florida town boasts plenty of sunshine and opportunities for outdoor recreation
Offering a plethora of outdoor activities, immense natural beauty and close proximity to beaches, it’s no surprise Naples performed well in the desirability and quality of life indexes.
If you could afford to live anywhere in the U.S., would you consider moving to the Sunshine State? This Gulf Coast town may be known as a playground for wealthy retirees and snowbirds, but Naples, Florida, clinched the No. 1 spot in U.S. News’ Best Places to Live 2024-2025 ranking, edging out Boise, Idaho, and Colorado Springs, Colorado.
U.S. News’ analysis evaluates data related to the desirability, quality of life, job market and value of 150 major U.S. cities. This includes crime rates, cost of living, job market, net migration, climate, quality of education and more. While other factors – such as personal preferences, proximity to family and friends, phase of life and career opportunities in a given field – certainly influence where Americans choose to call home, U.S. News considered data that can potentially contribute to making a city a good place to live.
Naples performed well in the desirability (No. 4), job market (No. 3) and quality of life (No. 28) indexes. This combination propelled it to the top of the ranking, despite its high cost of living translating to a low score in the value index. The city also ranked highly among some of the individual metrics that factored into the quality of life score: No. 4 in college readiness, No. 26 in well-being, No. 15 in air quality and No. 12 for its low crime rate.
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The Great Outdoors
Naples, located in southwest Florida, has a nearly 9-mile shoreline of white sand beaches on the Gulf of Mexico, and the city boasts sunny days for most of the year.
“Along the lines of the Florida lifestyle, you’re going to have a lot of that sunshine, warmer summers, very little potential for any kind of cold weather whatsoever – maybe in the 50s in a certain time of year,” says Kristina Park, president and CEO of the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce.
“Six months out of the year, you could not have more perfect weather,” says Tiffani Mensch, president and CEO of United Way of Collier and the Keys. “And then the other six months it’s hot, but it’s still so beautiful here that you don’t care.”
Those who enjoy the subtropical climate have a variety of natural resources and outdoor activities at their disposal, from lounging on the beaches to exploring the nearby wetlands and Everglades. And residents of Collier County, of which Naples is the seat, can get free parking permits for the county’s beaches.
