4 California cities named among top 100 best places to live in US: report

SUGGESTED COVERAGE: California has 3 of the US's happiest cities

Three California cities were ranked among the "Happiest Cities in the U.S.," according to a new report from Wallet Hub. Freemont, Irvine and Huntington Beach were all in the top five.

LOS ANGELES - What makes a city a great place to live?

A variety of factors are usually top of mind - such as safety, transportation, cost of living, and education.

Livability recently released its list of Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S. - and four California cities made the list! Was one of them yours?

According to the rankings, those four cities are: Elk Grove, Clovis, Redding, and Murrieta.

Elk Grove in Sacramento County scored the highest among the California winners, with a score of 799. Redding had a quality-of-life score of 751, while Clovis had a score of 751 and Murrieta scored 730.

To get these results, Livability partnered with Applied Geographic Solutions and analyzed nearly 100 data points with an algorithm that takes into account measures of a city's economy, housing, cost of living, amenities, transportation, health, and environment. Livability limited its list to more than 2,000 cities that fit its population parameters of 75,000 to 500,000 people. Only cities with a median home value of $500,000 or less were included.

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Elk Grove, which has a population of nearly 182,000, got high marks for environment, health and economy, according to Livability.

"Elk Grove attracts people from all over the country with its welcoming community and celebratory spirit," the site said. "Putting down roots here is easy thanks to the city’s low crime rates, family-friendly atmosphere, and wealth of good schools, green spaces and recreational activities for children."

Carmel, Indiana, topped the list of the best 100 places to live in the nation with a score of 875 out of a possible 1,000.

To see the full list, tap or click here.