Realtor.com Media Mention

With home prices still skyrocketing (currently hovering at a national median of $450,000), everyone’s wondering whether there’s any halfway decent place where they can live that won’t break the bank—and a new report reveals some surprising areas to consider.

According to Livability’s annual list of the Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S. right now, the top spot is a bit of a shocker: Madison, WI.

The researchers at Livability came up with their rankings by sizing up 2,300 small and midsized cities (defined by populations of 500,000 or less), comparing 50 factors across eight different categories, including economics, housing, transportation, infrastructure, education, and health care.