![Tampa Bay ranked No. 75 on U.S. News & World Report's "Best Places to Live" list. The rankings scored 125 metro areas based on their job markets, quality of life and "people's desire to live there." Pictured is Belleaire Beach in April. | [JIM DAMASKE | Times, 2018]](https://www.tampabay.com/resizer//jZ7NeisT_r3hE395MR8r9DL4Hss=/426x0/smart/filters:format(webP)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tbt.s3.amazonaws.com/public/6Y3MSIGESMI6TKTRIBWI6S7HAY.jpg "Tampa Bay ranked No. 75 on U.S. News & World Report's \"Best Places to Live\" list. The rankings scored 125 metro areas based on their job markets, quality of life and \"people's desire to live there.\" Pictured is Belleaire Beach in April. | [JIM DAMASKE | Times, 2018]")
Tampa Bay's beaches and amenities make it an attractive place to live. But relatively mediocre scores for job market, value and overall desirability dragged Tampa Bay down to the middle of the pack for U.S. News & World Report's "Best Places to Live" list — No. 75. The rankings scored 125 metro areas based on their job markets, quality of life and "people's desire to live there."
"Living in the Tampa Bay area is like being on vacation all year," the report said. "Residents of the Tampa Bay area enjoy both a laid-back beach lifestyle and the amenities of a large metropolitan area."
Tampa Bay had a score of 6.6 out of 10 for desirability, 5.1 for value, 6.5 for job market, 6.7 for quality of life and 8.1 for net migration. Austin, Tx., held the No. 1 spot on the list, followed by Colorado Springs, Colo. and Denver, Colo.
Contact this reporter at mcarollo@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2249. Follow @malenacarollo.
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