We’ve got a lot going for us here in Hampton Roads, and that doesn’t go unnoticed by people outside our region. Our cities regularly feature on best-of lists for a multitude of reasons and now we’re high up on a list that should be important to every working-age person living here or considering it for the future.

SmartAsset looked at the 100 largest cities in the country and compared them on several metrics to determine which big US cities offered the best work-life balance, and Virginia Beach came out in second place, behind only Madison, Wisconsin.

Researchers at the personal finance technology company judged cities on ten metrics, among them housing costs, commute time, unemployment rate, and concentration of restaurants and arts, entertainment, and recreation establishments. About Virginia Beach they said:

“Virginia Beach, Virginia ranks in the top 10% of this study for two metrics: fourth-highest for restaurants as a percentage of all establishments (10.10%) and sixth-lowest for October 2020 unemployment rate (4.7%). The beach town also ranks in the top 20% of the study for two other metrics: 14^th-best for labor force participation rate (71.9%) and 17^th-best for arts, entertainment and recreation establishments as a percentage of all establishments (1.88%).”

Madison, Wisconsin took first place by appearing in the top ten percent for six of the ten metrics.

Along with The Beach, two other cities in the region feature in the top ten: Arlington, Virginia and Durham, North Carolina.