Impossibly high housing prices, constant threats of wildfires and earthquakes, and some of the nation’s worst traffic? For all its downsides, nine of the 10 U.S. counties with the best quality of life are located in California, according to a Social Explorer analysis of data compiled by Easy Analytic Software Inc., which used measures including weather, crime, culture, entertainment, dining, healthcare, education, and even an earthquake index to create an index (weighted heavily to weather).

The company ranked the U.S. average quality of life at 100; San Francisco County took the top spot at 197, followed by San Diego (183), Orange (182), Santa Clara (182), and Los Angeles (181). Charleston County, S.C., came in sixth, the only non-California county to make the top 10. Use Social Explorer’s award-winning, flexible maps to see if you agree with the ranking of your county’s quality of life.

Index is measured in relation to a neutral level of 100. Index values above 100 indicate that key industry indicators are in a period of expansion, while index values below 100 represent a period of contraction for key industry indicators. 

Quality of Life Index, 2020. Click here to explore further.

Author: Frank Bass