Major U.S. cities are often ranked by population. New York City, also known as the Big Apple, is smaller than other cities in total land mass, but it has the highest concentration of people. According to City-Data.com, New York City, including the five boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn, is home to more than 8 million people. Los Angeles, the second most populated city in the U.S., has less than half the population of New York City at just under 4 million people. Chicago, known as the Windy City, has a population of 2.8 million people, with Houston, Texas, close behind with 2.1 million. Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio and Dallas all make the top 10 list with fewer than 2 million people each. Detroit, last on the list of most populated cities, has just under 1 million inhabitants. All figures are as of 2011.
Forbes magazine compiled data from 2008 and 2009 to arrive at a top 10 list of America's safest cities. Analyzing major cities with populations of 250,000 or more, the magazine computed the number of violent crimes and fatal traffic accidents per 100,000 people. Plano Texas, a wealthy Dallas suburb, has the lowest violent crime rate of all big American cities, according to Forbes. Plano also has a low rate of fatal car accidents, which made it top Forbes' list of America's Safest Cities. Forbes credits wealth as a factor in city safety, noting that four cities on its list have a much higher per capita income than most. These include Honolulu, Hawaii, ranked third, San Jose, California, ranked fourth, and San Diego, which ranked ninth. Portland, Oregon, came in second and Omaha, Nebraska, fifth. New York City, the nation's largest city, placed as the sixth safest city in the country, with only 552 violent rimes per 100,000 residents. Santa Ana, California, and Anaheim, California, ranked seventh and eighth, with Glendale, Arizona, coming in 10th.
The advent of e-commerce in a virtual world has created more flexibility in our choices of where to live. A city's culture is a deciding factor for many people in where they choose to lay down roots. "People are realizing that culture is very important, that it adds another dimension to life. Without it, you might as well be living near a strip mall," says Bert Sperling, co-author of "Cities Ranked & Rated" and founder of "Best Places." Sperling's rankings are based on accessibility to museums, performing arts, arts media and libraries. And the winners, in order of ranking, are: New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.
The Huffington Post (huffingtonpost.com) published the Mercer's 2010 Cost of Living Survey on July 13, 2010. The survey factored expenses for shelter, food and other essentials to arrive at its list of the top 10 most expensive U.S. cities. They are, in order of ranking: New York City, Los Angeles, White Plains (New York), San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, Honolulu, Washington, D.C., Boston and Houston.
