Allentown has been ranked one of the Top 100 Best Places to Live by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News & World Report has ranked Allentown as the Lehigh Valley as one of the top places to live in the United States.

Allentown ranked 79 out of the largest 100 metropolitan areas in the country on the 2017 Best Places to Live list, with high rankings in the areas of quality of life, job market, value, desirability, and net migration.

“A quiet architectural renaissance has blossomed in Pennsylvania’s third-largest metro area,” Joanna Ireland wrote for U.S. News & World Report. “… Allentown’s convenient location, commitment to healthy living and celebration of the arts make it a great place for active folks to settle down.”

Click here to read the full write-up about Allentown and the Lehigh Valley.

The region fell just two spots behind Philadelphia (#77) in the Top 100 list, and scored higher rankings than such areas as New York City (#80), Chicago (#83), Los Angeles (#88), Miami (#92), and New Orleans (#98).

Much of Allentown’s charm comes from its vast collection of historic homes and buildings, commercial structures and century-old industrial buildings,” Ireland wrote. “… Several districts constitute Allentown proper – each with its own unique identity and flair.”

U.S. News & World Report noted that the average home price in Allentown falls below that of other major U.S. metro areas, and that the boom in health care and technology jobs and the area’s efforts to create more entertainment options are drawing more millennials.

It also cited the city’s theater district, several popular restaurants, local retailers, Arts Walk, PPL Center hockey area, Allentown Art Museum and Baum School of Art, among others.

This is just one of several times the Lehigh Valley has generated similar attention from external media outlets. CNN Money chose Bethlehem for its “100 Best Places to Live and Launch” a startup company, and Money magazine selected the city as one of the best places in the country to retire to.