Elk Grove named best place to live in California and among best in West, study shows
Finding an outdoor place to enjoy the nice weather is no problem in the Northern California city of Elk Grove.
The city has more than one hundred parks. Art Feasel has lived there for 30 years and brings his dog, Minnie, out to play nearly every day.
"I love to be outdoors," Feasel said. "The parks are great."
The abundance of green space is just one of the reasons why Elk Grove is being named the best place to live in California, according to Livability, which also names it the sixth best city in the West.
"It's a friendly city," Elk Grove resident Dana Jacob said. "It's growing a lot and it has everything that we need."
The top honor is no surprise for Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen.
"Residents enjoy a high quality of life, which was one of the benchmarks and metrics that they use," Singh-Allen said.
The city gets high marks for its public schools and level of home ownership, which is 74%.
Elk Grove is also recognized for its diversity, which is celebrated with a number of cultural festivals each year.
"We are a majority minority city," Singh-Allen said. "We are a city welcome to all."
But there is some room for improvement. A survey by Niche shows there could be more nightlife, something the city is considering in its historic main street district. And the affordability of housing is another area where the city gets just an average grade.
"As we expand south, there will be a number of new opportunities for home ownership," Singh-Allen said.
Elk Grove's population has grown by nearly 20,000 people in just the last decade.
The mayor says she's ready to move up even higher on the annual best places list as the city gets bigger.
"We just celebrated our 25th anniversary, so the next 25 years, watch out," she said.
Broomfield, Colorado, takes the top spot for Best Places to Live in the West. The city of Clovis in Fresno County is the only other California city to make the top 10, coming in two spots behind Elk Grove at number eight.
