Murfreesboro is one of the Best Places to Live, according to MONEY.

Our fair city ranked 19th out of more than 500 cities ranked by the national magazine.

The magazine noted our stable economy, affordable housing (when compared to median family income) and events like JazzFest as reasons for the high ranking.

MONEY’s Best Places to Live ranking looked only at places with populations of 50,000 or greater. 

The Money team then eliminated any place that had more than double the national crime risk, less than 85% of its state’s median household income, or a lack of ethnic diversity. This left 583 places.

They then collected more than 135,000 different data points to narrow the list including economic health, cost of living, diversity, public education, income, crime, ease of living, and amenities, all provided by research partner Witlytic. They put the greatest weight on economic health, public school performance, and local amenities; housing, cost of living, and diversity were also critical components.

Finally, reporters researched each spot, interviewing residents, checking out neighborhoods and searching for the kinds of intangible factors that aren’t revealed by statistics.

To ensure a geographically diverse set, we limited the Best Places to Live list to no more than two places per state and one per county. In the top 15, we allowed only one place per state.

Top 6

1. Frisco, Texas

2. Ashburn, Va.
3. Carmel, Ind.
4. Elliott City, Md.
5. Cary, N.C.
6. Franklin, Tenn.