A city in north Fulton County is one of the best places to live in America, according to a recent study by Time Magazine’s Money.com.

Alpharetta checks in at No. 24 on the recently published list. It is the highest ranked Georgia city and just one of two in the top 50. The other is Smyrna, checking in at No. 44.

To create the list, Money.com looked at cities with populations of 50,000 or more people. It then eliminated any city that had more than double the national crime risk and less than 85 percent of its state's median household income. It also eliminated cities with a lack of ethnic diversity.

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That whittled the list down to 583 cities. Money.com then collected data on each city’s economic health, cost of living, diversity, public education, income, crime, ease of living and amenities. Reporters for the website also researched each city, interviewed residents and searched for intangible factors.

Money.com's top five was Frisco, Texas; Ashburn, Virginia; Carmel, Indiana; Ellicott City, Maryland and Cary, North Carolina.

Alpharetta received high marks for its food truck scene, concerts and equestrian facilities.

According to the data collected by Money.com, Alpharetta has a population of 65,861 people, 217 clear days per year, a median family income of $115,157, an 87 percent high school graduation rate, an average commute of 27 minutes, a median home price of $400,000 and a projected five-year job growth of 5.32 percent.

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Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum dances with Fulton County Superior Court Clerk Che Alexander to “Boots on the Ground” during the At-Promise Field Day hosted by the Atlanta Police Foundation at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center on Friday, June 27, 2025. (Ben Gray for the AJC)

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