New York didn't make the top 10 cut.
Chicago didn't even make a showing.
According to Forbes' determination of the U.S.' “coolest” cities, you won't find many of the usual suspects. Instead, Forbes, collaborating with Sperling's BestPlaces, came up with a top 20 list of “America's Coolest Cities” according to some very specific criteria, much of it centering on the interests of millennials.
Forbes began with the 60 largest metropolitan statistical areas and metropolitan divisions (cities and their surrounding suburbs), ranking them on six factors weighted equally: arts and culture, recreation, diversity, local eats, population age 20 to 34, and 2010-2013 net migration.
Are you ready to find out if your city is among the top 10 coolest? Read on:
No. 10: Dallas, Texas
Metro: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
Arts & Culture Index: 95
Recreation Index: 86
Diversity Index: 71.85
Local Eats: 72.7%
Population age 20-34: 28.4%
2010 – 2013 Net Migration: 3.9%
No. 9: Boston, Mass.
Metro: Boston-Quincy, Mass.
Arts & Culture Index: 100
Recreation Index: 99
Diversity Index: 53.76
Local Eats: 86.7%
Population age 20-34: 31.4%
2010 – 2013 Net Migration: 2.1%
No. 8: Riverside, Calif.
Metro: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif.
Arts & Culture Index: 88
Recreation Index: 93
Diversity Index: 77.27
Local Eats: 72.2%
Population age 20-34: 29.7%
2010 – 2013 Net Migration: 1.8%
No. 7: Denver, Colo.
Metro: Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colo.
Arts & Culture Index: 96
Recreation Index: 91
Diversity Index: 56.44
Local Eats: 70.0%
Population age 20-34: 28.2%
2010 – 2013 Net Migration: 4.2%
No. 6: San Diego, Calif.
Metro: San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.
Arts & Culture Index: 92
Recreation Index: 96
Diversity Index: 69.90
Local Eats: 78.7%
Population age 20-34: 32.9%
2010 – 2013 Net Migration: 1.7%
No. 5: San Francisco, Calif.
Metro: San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif.
Arts & Culture Index: 98
Recreation Index: 99
Diversity Index: 71.46
Local Eats: 92.2%
Population age 20-34: 28.5%
2010 – 2013 Net Migration: 2.6%
No. 4: Houston, Texas
Metro: Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas
Arts & Culture Index: 91
Recreation Index: 94
Diversity Index: 74.36
Local Eats: 75.8%
Population age 20-34: 29.0%
2010 – 2013 Net Migration: 4.2%
No. 3: Austin, Texas
Metro: Austin-Round Rock, Texas
Arts & Culture Index: 75
Recreation Index: 48
Diversity Index: 66.54
Local Eats: 73.9%
Population age 20-34: 32.5%
2010 – 2013 Net Migration: 7.5%
No. 2: Seattle, Wash.
Metro: Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.
Arts & Culture Index: 96
Recreation Index: 99
Diversity Index: 53.81
Local Eats: 81.6%
Population age 20-34: 29.1%
2010 – 2013 Net Migration: 4.0%
No. 1: Washington, D.C.
Metro: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Arts & Culture Index: 99
Recreation Index: 93
Diversity Index: 70.34
Local Eats: 68.9%
Population age 20-34: 29.8%
2010 – 2013 Net Migration: 3.9%
Bonus: Want to see which cities made the top 20? Read on.
No. 11: New York
No. 12: Oakland, Calif.
No. 13: Miami
No. 14: Sacramento, Calif.
No. 15: San Antonio, Texas
No. 16 (tie): San Jose, Calif. and Los Angeles
No. 18: Raleigh, N.C.
No. 19: Bethesda, Md.
No. 20: Santa Ana, Calif.
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