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<p>Best Cities to Live in Every State<br>
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<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://247wallst.com/special-report/2018/01/26/best-cities-to-live-in-every-state/">http://247wallst.com/special-report/2018/01/26/best-cities-to-live-in-every-state/</a>
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<p>The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.6% in the fourth
quarter, capping 15 straight quarters of economic growth. The
economy has added jobs for more than seven years. The Dow Jones
industrial average has now climbed above 25,000 points, a level
many would have deemed unreachable half a decade ago.</p>
<p>The United States is in the midst of a period of economic
prosperity. This period of ongoing prosperity — to the alarm of
many economists — has come with a widening gap between the rich
and poor. As corporations and wealthy Americans are getting an
increasingly larger piece of the pie, the middle class is
dwindling and many of the nation’s poor are finding it
increasingly difficult to earn a living wage and find steady
employment.</p>
<p>Uneven prosperity in the United States is evident not just across
its classes, but also geographically. In Camden, New Jersey, over
35% of the population lives in poverty, while in Clifton, also in
New Jersey, the poverty rate is just 8.6%. Clifton is just one
example of the cities where living conditions tend to vastly
exceed the typical city nationwide. In each state, at least one
city fares, if not better the nation as a whole, then better than
the rest of the state.</p>
<p>24/7 Wall St. created an index of over three dozen socioeconomic
measures to identify the best American city to live in each state.</p>
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<div class="wp-caption aligncenter"
src="https://247wallst.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/meridian-idaho.jpg"
alt="" width="645" height="363"
data-credit="Charles Knowles / Shutterstock.com"
data-id="418591" data-caption" style="width: 655px"><img
class="aligncenter replaced"
src="https://247wallst.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/meridian-idaho.jpg?w=645&h=363"
alt="" data-credit="Charles Knowles / Shutterstock.com"
data-id="418591" data-caption="" height="363" width="645">
<div class="wallst_image_source"><span>Source:</span> Charles
Knowles / Shutterstock.com</div>
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<p><strong>12. Idaho</strong><br>
<strong>> Best city to live:</strong> Meridian<br>
<strong>> Population:</strong> 95,627<br>
<strong>> Median home value:</strong> $236,200<br>
<strong>> Poverty rate:</strong> 6.2% (lowest 10%)<br>
<strong>> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree:</strong>
36.7%</p>
<p>The population of Meridian, Idaho increased by 24.6% over the
last five years — faster than in all but a handful of U.S. cities
and many times faster than the U.S. population growth rate of 3.7%
over the same period. Many new Meridian residents likely moved to
the city for economic opportunities. Total employment in Meridian
climbed 8.7% from 2014 through 2016, more than twice the
comparable job growth rate nationwide. Also, only 3.3% of
Meridian’s workers were out of a job as of 2016, compared to the
3.8% state and 4.9% national unemployment rates.</p>
<p>Rapid job growth and low unemployment are often characteristics
of relatively safe places, and Meridian is no exception. The
city’s violent crime rate of 110 incidents per 100,000 people is
less than half the statewide rate and less than one third the U.S.
violent crime rate.</p>
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<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://247wallst.com/special-report/2018/01/26/best-cities-to-live-in-every-state/">http://247wallst.com/special-report/2018/01/26/best-cities-to-live-in-every-state/</a>
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<p>Ken</p>
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