Hey, have you heard of Portland? Just as it seemed the Rose City might escape the withering glare of the national spotlight, a new survey suggests it's still the place everyone wants to be.

U.S. News & World Report says the Portland metro is the sixth-best place to live in its annual rankings, out Tuesday. That's a big jump, up from No. 32 last year and No. 20 in 2016. The rankings include 125 metro areas.

The scores are derived from a survey of 2,500 residents, as well as data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, FBI crime data and information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as U.S. News' own rankings of high schools and hospitals

Portland scored its lowest marks in "value," thanks to high and rising housing costs, and, curiously, "quality of life," a ranking based on crime rates, health care, education and commuting times.

But the city made up for all that with a perfect 10 out of 10 in "desirability," based on an internet survey that asked people from all over the country about where they'd prefer to live.

Its overall score was also pulled higher by the fact that people actually are moving here at a rapid clip, as well as a strong job market.

The report comes as Portland's star turn in the IFC comedy series "Portlandia" comes to an end, and it arrives as the influx of new arrivals in the Portland area actually slowed in 2017 for the first time since 2013.

The metro's rising star is somewhat at odds with the views of many actual Portland residents, who have reported that quality of life has declined in recent years.

A survey by the city of Portland found the share of Portlanders who rated the city's livability as "good" or "very good" dropped 16 percentage points in four years, from 79 percent in 2012 to 63 percent in 2016. (The mail survey, which included 3,125 respondents and had a 1.7 percent margin of error, was cut from the city's budget in 2017.)

A metro-wide survey conducted by DHM Research for the Portland Business Alliance in January found 50 percent of respondents said quality of life in the region was getting worse, while only 9 percent said it was getting better. The telephone survey of 506 likely voters had a margin of error of 4.4 percent.

Austin, Texas, topped the list thanks to its fast-growing economy and lower housing costs compared to similar-sized metros. It was followed by Colorado Springs, Colorado; Denver; Des Moines, Iowa; and Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Seattle fell to No. 10 from No. 6 last year.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

503-294-5034

@enjus