RALEIGH – A new study out Wednesday morning ranks Raleigh as No. 1 among the sites being considered for the Amazon HQ2 project when it comes to housing and quality of life.

The analysis from ATTOM Data Solutions – a national provider of data about housing trends – cites seven criteria in making its rankings such as the state of the housing market, quality of life, education scores, property taxes and crime rates. A spokesperson for the company has confirmed that the study is based on the Raleigh-Cary metro area.

However, Amazon has said it is considering the Triangle, not just Raleigh, as a site for the $5 billion project and 50,000 jobs. A decision is expected to be announced this year.

The Raleigh area, which also is in the running for a big Apple project, beat out Atlanta for the top spot followed by Pittsburgh, Nashville, Austin, Denver and Los Angeles.

Comparing cities

According to ATTOM’s data, the average price of a home in Raleigh is $235,000. That’s higher than Atlanta at $220,000.

However, Raleigh beats Atlanta in school scores, crime rate and taxes.

Home prices appreciated at a faster rate in Atlanta (69 percent) than Raleigh (26 percent) over the past five years. The two were virtually tied for housing affordability.

More HQ2 coverage:

Several studies about HQ2 sites have been published this year with Raleigh ranking highly in some, poorly in others.

Factors cited in the ATTOM study are:

Median home price

5-year home price appreciation

Affordability

School scores

Crime rate

Property tax rate

Environmental health

More data is available online.

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