Apparently, California small cities aren’t ranking too well as the nation’s best places to live.

At least according to CNN Money’s list of America’s best small cities, in which only four cities in California ranked in.

The publication created its rankings based off the following categories: financial (cost of living), housing, education, quality of life (crime, commute), weather, and leisure and culture.



Of the best top 100 best small cities in 2010, only Irvine (No. 22) ranked in the Top 25. The only other city to fall in the Top 50 was No. 38-ranked Yorba Linda. Other cities ranked in the list of 100 included Pleasanton (No. 63) and Rocklin (No. 65).

As for Irvine, according to the ranking:

Welcome to one of the most educated towns in America. This diverse Orange County community, which ranked No. 4 on MONEY’s Best Places to Live list in 2008, was founded in the 1960s when the University of California’s Irvine campus was built.

The university is still the town’s largest employer, but others, including Broadcom, have moved in. Given California’s massive budget problems, which threaten university funding, that’s a good thing.

Irvine is working on a 225-acre reconstruction of the Orange County Great Park that, when completed, will include sports fields, museums, and other entertainment areas.


Eden Prairie, Minn. ranked as the overall best small city to live in.

See the entire ranking here.