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Go Midwest! Only three cities in the US tick the boxes for affordable homes, strong economies and quality of life

Only 3 cities excel at affordable homes, strong economies, quality of life
They are Des Moines, IA; Oklahoma City, OK and Omaha, NE
Across the rest of America only 12 cities managed to excel at two factors
Figures come from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis
Affordability drops as economies and quality of life attract people

Published: 00:41 GMT, 19 June 2016 | Updated: 04:08 GMT, 19 June 2016

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Sorry, New York; too bad, San Francisco - the best cities to live in the U.S. have been revealed, and they're all firmly in the Midwest.

Josh Lehner at the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis looked at what's called 'the housing trilemma' - the desire to live somewhere that has good economic strength and a high quality of life but still has affordable property.

In the whole of the U.S. he found just three cities that excel in all three areas - and they're not on either of the coasts, Gizmodo reported.

More than OK: Oklahoma City was named one of the three best cities in the U.S. by the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, having a strong economy, a great quality of life and affordable housing

Struggle: The struggle to find cities that fit all three ideal categories is known as 'The Housing Trilemma'

Lehner looked at America's top 100 cities, and according to his calculations, the only places that truly have it all are Des Moines, Iowa; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Omaha, Nebraska.

They might not sound like the sexiest places to live, but only they have managed to get all three criteria - while only 12 others managed to get high marks in two categories, one usually being quality of life.

According to Lehner's notes, 'quality of life' is measured using factors as diverse as violent crimes per capita, amount of sunshine, the arts and culture index, and even the average slope of the land in the metropolitan area.

Meanwhile economic strength is calculated using job growth, the percentage of the 25-54-year-old population that's employed, and the share of firms that are start-ups.

And housing affordability comes down to the ratio of average house price to average wages, the share of rental households paying 30 percent on more rent, and the share of vacant or second homes.

The reason it's so hard to balance all three factors, Lehner says, is because market forces pull down one if the others get too high.

Quality time: Omaha, Nebraska, was also one of the cities. 'Quality of life' is based on level of sunshine, number of violent crimes, the arts and culture index, and other factors

'People want to live in cities with a strong economy and high quality of life,' he said.

'Increased demand for housing leads to higher prices and lower affordability. Nice places to live get their housing costs bid up due to strong demand.

'The opposite is true as well. Regions with underperforming economies and a lower quality of life do have better affordability.'

Those that managed to score two include Houston, Texas, which has affordability and economic strength; and Cincinatti, Ohio, which is both affordable and has quality of life.

And for those willing to shell out cash for both a strong economy and a good quality of life can head to - in decreasing order of affordability: Boise, Idaho; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco, California; and - yes Portland, Ohio.

Yes, Portland - which was once held up as America's ideal city, especially if you like beards and lumberjack shirts - is now too expensive for many to live there, largely because demand is outstripping available housing.

The solution, Gizmodo argues, is simple: build more housing.

Home free: Des Moines, Iowa, was the last city to be named. U.S. cities struggle to place well in all three factors because when the economy and quality of life are high, housing prices tend to skyrocket