Happy Home - Cities with the Best Residential Views

 

Which U.S. cities promise the most stunning scenic vistas — at a premium price? With recent wildfires literally clouding up the skies across the country, Lawn Love ranked 2023’s Cities With the Best Residential Views. We looked for cities with plenty of homes featuring spectacular sights of mountains, water, cityscapes, and green spaces. We also factored in historical air quality data to gauge visibility. See the 10 cities with the best (and 10 cities with the worst) residential views below, followed by key stats from our report.

Cities With the Best Views Rank City 1 Honolulu, HI 2 Seattle, WA 3 Reno, NV 4 Bellevue, WA 5 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 6 Anchorage, AK 7 Pembroke Pines, FL 8 Scottsdale, AZ 9 Colorado Springs, CO 10 Corona, CA Cities With the Worst Views Rank City 1 Fresno, CA 2 Tempe, AZ 3 El Paso, TX 4 Chandler, AZ 5 Glendale, AZ 6 Albuquerque, NM 7 Warren, MI 8 Detroit, MI 9 Newark, NJ 10 Pasadena, TX

Key insights: Panoramic paradise: For the 2nd year in a row, Honolulu dominates our ranking with the most ideal combination of nature and city views, enhanced by impeccable air quality. In fact, The Big Pineapple — particularly its Waikiki Beach neighborhood — is the 8th most Instagrammed city in America.   Oceanic overlooks: Technically an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, Puget Sound floats to the top of our ocean views metric. The region’s cities — Seattle (No. 2 overall), Bellevue (No. 4), and Tacoma (No. 17) — claim the three top spots (in that order). Unfortunately, West Coast wildfires can cause hazy views during the annual “smoke season.”   Blurred vision: 31 cities from only two states — Arizona and California — share the worst air. Arizona is particularly vulnerable to bad air due to an abundance of sunlight and lack of cloud cover. California’s Inland Empire region, meanwhile, is notorious for its poor air quality. It is consistently the worst in the nation due to industrial pollution, which contributes to Arizona’s hazy air.   Fountain of views: Florida cities claim all five of the best spots in our Water Views category. Fort Lauderdale (No. 11 overall) — appropriately nicknamed the Venice of America — leads the pack. The tradeoff to all this aquatic beauty, however, is hurricane risk.   Little place, big praise: The Biggest Little City in the World can now also claim to be the best big city for mountain views. In Reno, Nevada (No. 3 overall), the Sierra Nevada is within eyeshot for over half of homes on and off the market.   Keeping up appearances: For skyline views, the West towers above the rest. However, four cities among the top 25 in this category rival their Western counterparts: Atlanta (No. 24 overall), Norfolk, Virginia (No. 46), Miami (No. 26), and Springfield, Missouri (No. 62). Helpful links: See where your city ranks Full study article Expert insights Methodology Even if your home lacks spectacular sights, you can bring beautiful views to your backyard with the art of landscaping. Hire a local Lawn Love pro for all your lawn care and landscaping needs. Most Expensive Metro Areas to Rent Cities With the Most Green Space Most Expensive Cities for Home Improvement Best Cities for Tackling Home Improvements Most Expensive Cities for Lawn Irrigation Most Expensive Counties to Buy Residential Land