Birmingham’s value as a place to call home has decreased over the last year according to the U.S. News and World Report’s 2023 rankings for the 150 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2023-2024, which were released earlier this month.

Local experts have attributed this drop in ranking to an increase in violent crime, heavy migration out of the area, and a lack of affordable housing amidst high poverty rates. But one expert says part of the Magic City’s lower ranking can be attributed to cultural bias.

Birmingham ranked 80th out of the 150 “most populous metro areas” in the nation that U.S. News and World Report used for their study.

This ranking, which is nine spots lower than last year’s, places the Birmingham metro nearly smack dab in the middle of the national ranking.

Part of this so-so review could be due to a recent sharp increase in violent crime according to Bennie Waller, the William Cary Hulsey faculty fellow in the Culverhouse College of Business at The University of Alabama.