Chattanooga was named the the best city in Tennessee in a new ranking of major American cities by U.S. News & World Report magazine.

Among the top 150 U.S. cities, Chattanooga ranked No. 27 overall, up 21 places from its 48th place ranking a year earlier in a similar report from U.S. News. In its new ranking of the cities, U.S. News writer Maura Friedman called the Scenic City "the comeback kid of Tennessee" after cleaning up its environment, redeveloping its riverfront and expanding its urban attractions over the past half century.

"Once called 'the dirtiest city in America' by Walter Cronkite, Chattanooga now boasts a revitalized Main Street, premier outdoor recreation and a hearty startup scene," Friedman writes in the new U.S. News magazine issue released this week. "While Chattanooga continues to move toward offering urban amenities like expanded downtown living and the Chattanooga Film Festival, the area's small-town spirit -- fostered by farmers markets, tight-knit networks and owner-operated small businesses -- is alive and well. Chattanoogans are proud of where they live."

To calculate its rankings, U.S. News asked thousands of Americans what matters most to them when choosing places to live and ranked each city on a weighted scale based upon those results with performance metrics for quality of life (32%), value (27%), the job market (22%) and desirability (19%). The latter category takes into account factors such as weather, number of bars and restaurants per capita, and net migration.

(READ MORE: Chattanooga moves up 26 spots in 'best performing cities' ranking)

U.S. News is the third national publication to recognize Chattanooga as a leading city this year. In February, Chattanooga rose 26 places in the Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities rankings, moving up to 46 from 72. Last month, Chattanooga was named one of Money Magazine's 50 Best Places to Live in the U.S.

"We still have a lot more work to do to increase access to affordable housing, upgrade our infrastructure and continue to improve public safety," Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said in a statement released after the U.S. News rankings were released. "But our rise in these rankings is proof that our work to build One Chattanooga is working -- and we won't stop until this is the best city in America."

Best places to live in the U.S.

Among the top 150 American cities, U.S. News & World Report ranked Chattanooga as the 27th best city, followed by Knoxville (29), Atlanta (30), Nashville (50) and Memphis (122). The top 10 are:

1. Naples, Florida

2. Boise, Idaho

3. Colorado Springs, Colorado

4. Greenville, South Carolina

5. Charlotte, North Carolina

6. Raleigh, North Carolina

7. Huntsville, Alabama

8. Virginia Beach, Virginia

9. Austin, Texas

10. Boulder, Colorado

Source: U.S. News & World Report "Best Places to Live in the U.S in 2024-2025"

The best U.S. city to live and retire in, according to U.S. News, is the resort city of Naples, Florida, which offers both an ocean beachfront and a dynamic economy, according to the magazine.

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Among the top 10 cities in the U.S News rankings, seven are in the South, including three in the Carolinas.

Erika Giovanetti, U.S. News & World Report's loans expert, told CBS MoneyWatch the top cities "had a good balance of everything" and were especially strong in terms of value, housing affordability and job market.

"We are really looking for cities that shine in those categories," Giovanetti said.

-- Compiled by Dave Flessner