Denver
Rank: 6
Population: 597,466

The Mile High City has evolved into a major night life and dining hub, with more than 200 bars and 1,700 restaurants to offer up its craft beers and mixture of southwestern and Rocky Mountain cuisine. The bars near Coors Field are packed while the weather’s warm, and when it gets cold, residents are only short drives from some of the nation’s best skiing. There is also exotic food, with such game haunts as the Buckhorn Exchange offering local takes on yak, rattlesnake, and, of course, Rocky Mountain oysters (look it up).

Bars: 207
Restaurants: 1,741
Museums: 33
Libraries: 39
Pro sports teams: 6
Park acres per 1,000 residents: 10
Colleges: 13
Percent with graduate degree: 10.9
Median household income: $59,155
Percent unemployed: 8.9