The Business Journal reported on a study which ranked cities around the country with a Quality of Life (QOL) ranking. The first release identified those rankings in the south, which covered 13 southern states. Out of those 13 states, Milton, GA ranked #9 which was the highest ranked city in the state of Georgia.

The study looked for well-rounded areas with healthy economies, light traffic, moderate costs of living, impressive housing stocks and strong educational systems. Based on that criteria, it’s no surprise that Milton ranked so high with it’s exceptional schools . Several other cities on the north side of Atlanta performed well.

It’s interesting data and, if you live in or are planning on relocating to Milton, Johns Creek, Alpharetta or any other high-ranking city then it’s nice to hear. However, I do have to question any study that would rank the quality of life in Buford and Marietta lower than the City of Atlanta!

Here are the rankings for cities in our area:

City QOL Ranking South QOL Percentile Population (2009)
Milton
9 99.30% 15,572
Johns Creek 15 98.78% 60,628
Alpharetta 27 97.73% 49,996
Dunwoody 37 96.86% 38,597
Roswell 89 92.31% 86,969
Suwanee 90 92.23% 15,373
Sandy Springs 99 91.44% 84,488
Decatur
 100 91.35% 19,029
Sugar Hill 113 90.22% 16,607
Duluth 160 86.11% 25,671
Mountain Park 174 84.89% 12,223
Woodstock 181 84.28% 22,274
Kennesaw 230 80.00% 31,733
Smyrna 232 79.83% 49,283
Acworth 234 79.65% 19,327
Fayetteville 242 78.95% 14,792
Snellville 250 78.25% 19,881
Lilburn 261 77.29% 11,642
Mableton
 283 75.37% 33,466
Norcross 357 68.91% 10,357
Atlanta 409 64.37% 515,843
Buford 412 64.11% 12,157
Marietta 537 53.19% 65,009
Lawrenceville 770 32.84% 28,873
Canton 790 31.09% 20,775
Gainesville 914 20.26% 34,048