Raleigh again ranks among the best cities to live and work by U.S. News and Milken

By the numbers: Raleigh dropped three spots on U.S. News' list from No. 3 to No. 6.

• Yes, but: It moved up one spot to No. 2 in the Milken list.

What they're saying: Milken noted that Raleigh was the only large city in its analysis to rank in the top quartile for all of its indicators, which include metrics such as job and wage growth, the presence of high-tech industries, housing affordability and income inequality.

• "Whether new construction can keep pace with the demand for housing will play a large role in determining Raleigh's status as a best-performing city moving forward," the Milken report noted.

U.S. News said the Carolinas region as a whole excelled with three of the top 10 cities — Charlotte (No. 5), Raleigh (No. 6) and Greenville, S.C. (No. 4) — due to its strong job markets and quality of life scores.

• The quality of life score looked at crime rates, public school ratings, commutes, health care access, air quality, well-being indexes and natural disaster exposure.