Emerging Metropolitan Areas
Below is the list of the Emerging Metropolitan Areas. See the complete list of Best Places or profiles of the top ten.
| Rank | Metro area |
| 1 | Ithaca, NY |
| 2 | Bend, OR |
| 3 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA |
| 4 | Logan, UT-ID |
| 5 | Coeur d'Alene, ID |
| 6 | Prescott, AZ |
| 7 | Vero Beach, FL |
| 8 | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA |
| 9 | Brunswick, GA |
| 10 | Idaho Falls, ID |
| 11 | Lewiston, ID-WA |
| 12 | Ames, IA |
| 13 | Bowling Green, KY |
| 14 | Columbus, IN |
| 15 | Ocean City, NJ |
| 16 | Wenatchee, WA |
| 17 | Winchester, VA-WV |
| 18 | Harrisonburg, VA |
| 19 | Hot Springs, AR |
| 20 | Farmington, NM |
| 21 | Gainesville, GA |
| 22 | Morgantown, WV |
| 23 | Salisbury, MD |
| 24 | Sandusky, OH |
| 25 | Michigan City-La Porte, IN |
| 26 | Lebanon, PA |
| 27 | Kingston, NY |
| 28 | Elizabethtown, KY |
| 29 | St. George, UT |
| 30 | Fond du Lac, WI |
| 31 | Fairbanks, AK |
| 32 | Dalton, GA |
| 33 | Cleveland, TN |
| 34 | Monroe, MI |
| 35 | Morristown, TN |
| 36 | Danville, IL |
| 37 | Jefferson City, MO |
| 38 | Valdosta, GA |
| 39 | Rome, GA |
| 40 | Carson City, NV |
| 41 | Hinesville-Fort Stewart, GA |
| 42 | Madera, CA |
| 43 | Longview-Kelso, WA |
| 44 | Hanford-Corcoran, CA |
| 45 | El Centro, CA |