North Carolina is home to two of the best places to live in the Southeast, rankings show.

Cary ranks No. 2 and Concord No. 10 on a list of cities that boast top entertainment options, job opportunities and low crime, according to results published Aug. 7.

To create a national list, the website Livability said it studied more than 2,000 places across the country. It focused on cities with 75,000 to 500,000 people, using data from the U.S. government and other sources to score them. The scores were divided into eight categories: environment, transportation, health, amenities, safety, education, economy, and housing and costs of living.

What makes Cary and Concord special?

Within the Southeast region, the city that earned the highest overall score was Johns Creek, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. But Cary wasn’t far behind, making a name for itself when it comes to its food and drink options.

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“Cary is a flourishing city that offers a fantastic arts scene (gorgeous public art, galleries and more), a variety of eateries, must-visit breweries and great sporting events,” Livability wrote in its report.

Cary — home to the USA Baseball National Training Complex and WakeMed Soccer Park — has about 180,000 residents. The town just west of Raleigh also received nods for its safety, public schools and proximity to businesses in Research Triangle Park.

“Nestled between the stunning Western Carolina mountains and the famous East Coast beaches of the Outer Banks, Cary, NC, uses its enviable location to its advantage,” Livability wrote.

The drivers take the track at the start of the race at the Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., on Monday, May 29, 2023.

Also earning a top spot on the list was Concord, about 25 miles northeast of the bustle of uptown Charlotte.

“Concord is the perfect blend of a quaint, Southern town and an up-and-coming metropolis, making it one of the best places to live in the Southeast,” Livability wrote.

Concord, which has nearly 110,000 residents, also received praise for its amenities, including park space and the Charlotte Motor Speedway racing center.

How did other NC cities rank?

In addition to Cary and Concord, many North Carolina cities were found to have lower costs of living compared to other locations that were studied. Places in the state that ranked high but missed the top 10 were Durham at No. 15; Asheville at No. 17; Winston-Salem at No. 18; and Wilmington at No. 22.

Across the Southeast, the cities that rounded out the top five places to call home:

Roswell, Georgia, at No. 3

Columbia, Maryland, at No. 4

Virginia Beach, Virginia, at No. 5

The cities considered for the rankings were in the following states: “Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland,” Livability told McClatchy News in an email.

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