New ranking says Atlanta is among the best state capitals in the country

Not that we needed an outside ranking to tell us, but the data doesn’t lie: Atlanta is among the best state capitals in the country.

In a new ranking from personal finance website WalletHub, “the city too busy to hate” came in at No. 7.

“Not all state capitals are created equal,” WalletHub notes in the report. “Though 17 of them are the largest cities in their states, the biggest population doesn’t always represent the best quality of life.”

To determine which state capitals are among the best, the report looked at 49 metrics in the categories off “affordability,” “economic well-being,” “quality of education and health” and “quality of life.”

The study also considered things like population growth, income growth, air quality, crime rates and walkability.

Atlanta fared best in the “quality of life” category — No. 5 overall. But it still earned respectable marks in “quality of education and health” (No. 12) and “economic well-being” (No. 8). On affordability, it will come as no surprise that the city did not rank so well, coming in at No. 34 overall.

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So, what cities does Atlanta trail?

Here’s a look at the top 10: