Nightlife in L.A. is about more than just celebrities stumbling home at 4 am. The city has everything from gay bars and dance clubs to tiki rooms and dives.

And though there's always some new hotspot opening up, many old school classics still reign here.

Zagat recently released it's 2013 Los Angeles Nightlife Survey, and the editors at Zagat compiled a list of the 10 Best Bars in L.A.

From Sunset Boulevard to WeHo, these are the bars to check out the next time you're in the City of Angels.

#10 Sagebrush Cantina

23527 Calabasas Rd.

Bikers, hipsters, and the sports bar crowd all frequent this Calabasas bar.

It has great Mexican food, and even better margaritas, which you can enjoy while listening to live music either on the patio or inside the bar.

#9 Cinema Bar

3967 Sepulveda Blvd.

This hole-in-the-wall bar in Culver City dates back to 1947 and features old movie posters, wood-paneled walls, and live music.

The expert bartenders make such fantastic cheap drinks that you'll find yourself fighting for a spot at the bar.

#8 Rainbow Bar & Grill

9015 W. Sunset Blvd.

This is a Hollywood icon for a reason.

The '80s time warp known as Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood takes you back to the headbanging, metal rock era—except this place has amazing food, strong drinks, and a few celeb spottings.

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Everyone has their favorite local pizza joint, but is yours one of the best in America?

Some pizza places serve pies that are so delicious that people trek hundreds, and even thousands, of miles to eat there.

The editors at Zagat came up with a list of the 10 Pies Worth A Road Trip. From Phoenix to Brooklyn, these pizza meccas offer the freshest ingredients, crispiest crusts, and tastiest sauces around.

Pizzeria Bianco: Phoenix, AZ

623 E. Adams St.

The Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas at Pizzeria Bianco keep its cult following coming back for more.

The staff only uses the freshest local ingredients for their simple salads and charred pies in this brick-lined restaurant.

In Riva: Philadelphia, PA

4116 Ridge Ave.

In Riva is a little piece of Italy in Philadelphia. It specializes in Neapolitan-style pizza prepared in a wood fire oven, and offers the clientele an assortment of Italian wines and beers.

It also has fantastic view of the Schuylkill River.

Salvatore's Coal Oven Pizza: Port Washington, NY

124 Shore Rd.

Salvatore's makes its pizza in coal-fired brick ovens. The coal-stoked crust is worth a visit in and of itself, but just remember — no slices, no credit cards. Full pies and cash only.

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Cities that cut police budgets to save costs may be shooting themselves in the foot.

A recent study by Aaron Chaflin and Justin McCrary at UC Berkeley found that for every dollar spent on police, the average U.S. city can expect about $1.60 in reduced crime costs.

"Our estimates suggest that if you increase police officers by 10 percent, you can get something like a 5 percent reduction in cost of crime," McCrary told The Baltimore Sun. "For cities with a high level of crime, where police are relatively inexpensive, that's a tradeoff a city should be willing to make."

The benefits of increased police spending vary greatly by city.

Some places are actually overpoliced, including small, low-poverty cities like Sunnyvale, Calif. and Waltham, Mass. Other places are drastically underpoliced, like Gary, Ind., where $1 in police spending could save $14 in crime reduction.

Chalfin and McCrary collected data spanning from 1960-2010 for 242 cities that have at least 50,000 residents. The researchers calculated victimization costs by taking into account direct costs of crimes, such as the value of a stolen car, as well as emotional costs.

#15 Richmond, Calif.

Each additional $1 spent on police could reduce crime by $3.60.

Population: 103,701 

Average cost of crime per person per year: $3,010

Source: The Effect of Police on Crime

#14 Richmond, Va.

Each additional $1 spent on police could reduce crime by $3.60.

Population: 204,214

Average cost of crime per person per year: $2,614

Source: The Effect of Police on Crime

#13 Macon. Ga.

Each additional $1 spent on police could reduce crime by $3.70.

Population: 91,351

Average cost of crime per person per year: $1,774

Source: The Effect of Police on Crime

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Hate crimes were down across the country in 2011, according to the annual report from the FBI.

The report identified 6,222 crimes motivated by bias against a particular race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or disability in 2011. This shows a slight decrease from 2010, which saw 6,628 incidents, and 2009, which saw 6,604 incidents.

The District of Columbia was relatively the worst state for the second year running, with 13 incidents per 100,000 people in 2011.

Below is breakdown of hate crimes reported in each state, ranked by the rate per 100,000:

Now Check Out The 15 Most 'Underpoliced' Cities In America >

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The United Health Foundation just released their annual America's Health Rankings for 2012.

See the list >

The good news: As a whole, Americans are living longer

The bad news: A growing number of unhealthy habits threatens our quality of life.

The study looks at several factors including smoking, obesity, alcohol use, education, health insurance, and public health funding.

Even the nation's healthiest state for the sixth year in a row, Vermont, is dealing with some challenges like high binge drinking among adults.

Some of the worst states featured here deal with an adult population in which 30 percent are obese, about 30 percent smoke, about 20 percent binge drink, and over 35 percent are living a sedentary lifestyle.

#24 Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania teeters on the edge of being a relatively healthy state that has moved down two spots from last year, but their stats still look pretty bad.

• 22.4 percent of adults smoke 
• 18.3 percent of adults binge drink
• 28.6 percent of adults are obese
• 26.2 percent of adults live a sedentary lifestyle
• 80.5 of incoming ninth graders will graduate high school
  
• 10.9 percent of the population does not have health insurance

Source: United Health Foundation

#23 South Dakota

This was a particularly bad year for South Dakota. The state moved up 8 spots since last year toward most unhealthiest state.

• 23 percent of adults smoke 
• 22.1 percent of adults binge drink
• 28.1 percent of adults are obese
• 27 percent of adults live a sedentary lifestyle
• 81.7 of incoming ninth graders will graduate high school
• 13 percent of the population does not have health insurance

Source: United Health Foundation

#22 Alaska

Alaska is usually thought of as being full of active people who ice-fish and scale glaciers, but that's not so true anymore:

• 22.9 percent of adults smoke
• 20.8 percent of adults binge drink
• 27.4 percent of adults are obese
• 22 percent of adults live a sedentary lifestyle
• 72.6 of incoming ninth graders will graduate high school
• 18.2 percent of the population do not have health insurance

Source: United Health Foundation

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Take the FBI's report on hate crimes with a grain of salt.

The data, which suggested that Mississippi had America's fewest hate crimes in 2011, is highly dependent on reports from local police, some of whom are better at reporting hate crimes than others.

"It's very hard to get much that's useful out of these numbers," said Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.

Some police departments — like the NYPD— report more hate crime because they have entire units devoted to that issue, according to Indiana University law professor Jeannine Bell.

These special units have officers trained to identify hate crimes and encourage the public to spot such crimes, Bell said. For example, you might not realize graffiti with a racial slur is a "hate crime" without help from the police, she said.

The opposite holds true in some cities without dedicated hate crime units.

Since police might not be on the lookout for such crimes, they're more likely to tell the FBI they had "zero" hate crimes for the entire year, Bell said.

These reports of so few hate crimes obviously ring a little false. In Mississippi only one hate crime was reported for all of 2011, the SPLC's Mark Potok pointed out.

"The idea that an entire state had one hate crime is flatly ludicrous," he said.

While it's clear that precincts with limited resources may under-report hate crimes, the FBI's data do offer some insight into overall hate crime trends in the United States.

The overall number of reported hate crimes dropped by 30 percent between 1996 and 2011, with those targeting blacks dropping by 43 percent during those years.

SEE ALSO: The 15 Most 'Underpoliced' Cities In America >

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Happy 2013! It's a brand new year, but for some of us it might be a bit of a rough start. Between the champagne toasts and parties lasting until the wee hours of the morning, a hangover the day after New Year's Eve is pretty standard.

To see which cities have it the worst, we looked at the Center for Disease Control's most recent statistics on binge drinking and Trulia's list of cities with the most bars per capita. We then gave each city a Business Insider Hangover Score based on those two numbers.

The Midwest represented well on the list, proving that when its dark and cold outside, people love to drink. Also making the cut were major destinations such as Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans.

#25 Denver, CO

Business Insider Hangover Score: 24.7

4 bars per 10,000 households

16.8% admitted to binge drinking

The CDC defines binge drinking as having five or more drinks in one sitting for men, and four or more drinks in one sitting for women. The most recent data available was from 2010.

Trulia's figure is derived from the number of bars as reported in the census' County Business Patterns section, divided by the number of households in that metro area.

Source: CDC and Trulia

#24 Portland, OR

Business Insider Hangover Score: 25

5.2 bars per 10,000 households

14.7% admitted to binge drinking

The CDC defines binge drinking as having five or more drinks in one sitting for men, and four or more drinks in one sitting for women. The most recent data available was from 2010.

Trulia's figure is derived from the number of bars as reported in the census' County Business Patterns section, divided by the number of households in that metro area.

Source: CDC and Trulia

#23 El Paso, TX

Business Insider Hangover Score: 25.5

5.6 bars per 10,000 households

14.3% admitted to binge drinking

The CDC defines binge drinking as having five or more drinks in one sitting for men, and four or more drinks in one sitting for women. The most recent data available was from 2010.

Trulia's figure is derived from the number of bars as reported in the census' County Business Patterns section, divided by the number of households in that metro area.

Source: CDC and Trulia

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The first commercial passenger elevator was installed by the Otis Elevator Company in 1857 in New York City. It climbed at a then-staggering rate of 40 feet per minute.

Today, an Otis elevator in the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai soars up at a speed of 22 mph. And it didn't even top a new ranking of the fastest elevators in the world from Emporis, a database of construction projects.

The list is dominated by elevators located in Asia, including China, Taiwan, and Japan.

#5 Jin Mao Tower — Shanghai, China

Speed: 1,791 feet/min, 20 mph

Height: 1,381 feet

Time From Ground To Roof*: 46 seconds

Elevator Supplier: Mitsubishi

Fun Fact: The Jin Mao Tower has a total of 130 operating elevators, which includes the two express elevators in the basement.

Source: Emporis

*If traveling at full velocity

#4 John Hancock Center — Chicago, USA

Speed: 1,801 feet/min, 20.5 mph

Height: 1,129 feet

Time From Ground To Roof*: 38 seconds

Elevator Supplier: Otis

Fun Fact: Instead of taking the elevator, visitors can also take the stairway from the main lobby to
the "Observatory." It has a total of 1,632 steps.

Source: Emporis

*If traveling at full velocity

#3 (tie) China World Trade Center Tower III — Beijing, China

Speed: 1,968.5 feet/min, 22 mph

Height: 1,083 feet

Time From Ground To Roof*: 33 seconds

Elevator Supplier: Schindler

Fun Fact: These elevators reach their full velocity of 22 mph in eleven seconds.

Source: Emporis

*If traveling at full velocity

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The Financial Times is out with its latest rankings of the world's business schools, with Harvard taking the top spot from Stanford.

As always, these rankings are somewhat idiosyncratic, Bloomberg Businessweek puts Chicago Booth in the top spot, and it barely makes the top 10 in the FT. Our rankings had Stanford at number one. 

But of course, salary reigns supreme, and despite recent depressing news about MBA pay, grads from top schools are doing pretty well for themselves. 

Here are the top 10 schools ranked by average salary, along with the increase in graduate's salaries from their pre-MBA days.

NOW READ: The Reported Million Dollar MBA Is Actually Making Less Than $90,000

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A Woodside, California home quietly traded hands last November for the staggering price of $117.5 million dollars, according to SF Luxe. That makes it the most expensive residence ever sold in the California, and possibly the second-most expensive private real estate deal in the United States ever.

The mansion is roughly 9,000 square feet, and was designed by Virginia-based architect Allan Greenberg. It has a pool, nine-acres of property, and is surrounded by 360-degree views of the Woodside Mountains, according to SF Luxe.

The record-breaking transaction reportedly took place on November 27, 2012 to an undisclosed buyer. The residence was never publicly listed for sale, and SF Luxe reports it was previously owned by Tully Friedman of Friedman Fleischer and Lowe LLC, a San Francisco investment firm.

Billionaire Stanley Kroenke holds the number one spot for most-expensive US home after purchasing a 123,000-acre Montana mega-ranch last year. The property was originally listed for $132.5 million, though the sale price has never been disclosed.

DON'T MISS: Sports Team Titan Tom Hicks Lists His Gigantic Dallas Estate For $135 Million

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Business Insider recently published a list of the Best Employers of 2013, which was based on exclusive data from PayScale.

Here's how the list was put together:

All of the data used were collected from workers who successfully completed PayScale’s employee survey and only companies that were on the 2012 Fortune 500 list were considered for this ranking.

All of the surveys were from employees who work in the United States. This sample does not include U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico or Guam.

Below are the different factors that were taken into account for the final scores:

Total Cash Compensation (TCC): Combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime, and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable.

TCC does not include equity (stock) compensation, which can be a significant portion of pay for some executive and high-tech jobs. In addition, salary does not include cash value of retirement benefits, or value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare). 

High Job Satisfaction: This is the percentage of people who responded Extremely Satisfied or Fairly Satisfied to the question, “How satisfied are you in your job?”

Low Job Stress: This is the percentage of people who responded My Job is Relaxing or Not Stressful to the question, “How stressful is your job/work environment?”

High Work Schedule Flexibility: This is the percentage of people who responded On any day, I can change my schedule and time-off or With advanced notice, I can set my schedule and time-off to the question, “How flexible is your job?”

High Job Meaning: This is the percentage of people who responded Very Much So and Yes to the question, “Does your job make the world a better place?”

Years of Experience: This is the total number of years a person has in their field / career. Therefore the years of experience will incorporate all applicable jobs in the field, not just the current job.

Experienced Median Pay: This is the median (50^th Percentile) TCC for people who have at least 5 years of experience and work at the given company. Half of the employees with 5 or more years of work experience will earn more than this amount, while half will earn less.

Salary Delta: This measures whether a given employer typically pays above, below or at market price for their employees.  By utilizing PayScale’s database of more than 35 million employee profiles, we have determined how various compensable factors, like years of work experience, education, and job responsibilities, affect pay, all else equal.  From this analysis, PayScale can then calculate what a worker with a given set of compensable factors will earn across different employers.

This measure is reported as a percentage premium or loss. Any employer that pays above market will have a positive percentage. The larger the percentage, the higher the premium these employers pay for their workers. On the other hand, if an employer pays below market, the percentage will be negative.

Scoring:

In order to turn these different factors into a score, Payscale standardized each company specific measure by dividing the company specific value across the set of companies. 

Next, the scores were turned into a distribution where the final company specific score is between 0.6 and 1.4 and evenly proportioned by rank. This step was needed in order to remove the heavy influence of outliers on the overall rank of an employer.

Once a company specific score for each of the six factors were determined — high job satisfaction, low job stress, high work schedule flexibility, high job meaning, experienced median pay and salary delta — the final score was reached by multiplying each of the factors together.

Each score has equal weight and equal effect on the resulting outcome except for the Experienced Median Pay Score which was weighted twice as heavily as all the other scores to place extra emphasis on companies who pay their employees well.

Click here to see the results >

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National Jurist has come out with a new law school ranking that completely disregards the criteria used by traditional ranking systems. 

Instead of looking at GPA or LSAT scores, National Jurist said its "goal was to provide an alternative ranking that was focused more on results and service, and that would provide legal education with admirable incentives."

TaxProf Blog has a complete breakdown of National Jurist's ranking system, including how the magazine uses RateMyProfessors.com as a ranking tool: 

Post-Graduate Success:  50%
Employment Rate:  22.5%
Super Lawyers:  12.5%
Partners in NLJ 200:  10%
Bar Passage:  5%

Student Satisfaction:  35%
RateMyProfessors.com:  20%
Princeton Review:  15%

Affordability and Diversity:  15%
Debt:  10%
Diversity:  5%

Check out the 15 best law schools, according to National Jurist's rankings: 

These rankings, first brought to our attention by Above The Law, are problematic for a number of reasons.

They rely heavily on a website that allows students to either rant or rave about professors based on their personal experiences.

Plus, RateMyProfessors.com is notoriously inaccurate when it comes to law professors, according to University of Chicago Law School professor Brian Leiter. 

Leiter examined National Jurist's rankings and then checked out RateMyProfessors.com and found the site often fails to actually classify law professors as law professors, meaning they aren't rated properly, which completely skews National Jurist's rankings. 

In short, 20% of the overall score is fraudulent on its face," Leiter wrote on his blog Brian Leiter's Law School Reports. "And it's that 20% that explains all the variance."

Secondly, Yale and Harvard law schools are almost universally recognized as two of the best law schools in the country. To have them ranked so low, and surpassed by other, lesser known schools damages this new ranking's credibility.

SEE ALSO: New Data Should Have Every Second-Year Law Student Extremely Worried About Getting A Summer Job

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In a recent ranking of the world's "most livable" cities, Melbourne, Australia took the number one spot.

The Economist Intelligence Unit gave the city perfect marks for education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Melbourne's total score was 97.5 out of 100, only losing a few spare points for climate, petty crime, and culture.

Australia had five other cities in the top 10, but Melbourne with its Gothic Laneways, music culture, and gorgeous Yarra River was proclaimed the very best.

Melbourne sits on the gorgeous Yarra River, making it a prime spot for water sports, boating, and scenic views.

Source: Melbourne Water

It has the largest gambling center in the southern hemisphere, Crown Casino, with a license for 500 table games and an hourly fire show.

Source: Crown Limited

The city also hosts Big Day Out, one of the biggest nationwide music festivals where plenty of local and famous international bands come to play.

Source: CNBC

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From the Great Barrier Reef to the limestone cliffs of Australia, the Southern Hemisphere has some of the world's most beautiful attractions.

Turns out it has some pretty spectacular hotels, too.

Travel + Leisure asked their readers to rate the World's Best Hotels, and properties in Australia, New Zealand, and the French Polynesia all received top-ranking scores.

And just looking at what the top 10 have to offer guests, it's easy to see why they made the cut.

#10 - The 5-star Park Hyatt Sydney hotel has views of the Opera House, and serves traditional Aussie treats like passion fruit marshmallows for turn down service.

Source: Travel + Leisure

#9 - Views of the Sydney Harbour don't get better than at the Shangri-La Hotel, whether you're at the bar, restaurant, or in your hotel room.

Source: Shangri-La Hotel Sydney

#8 - Australia's Hayman has a salt water pool the size of seven Olympic-sized pools that surrounds a smaller, fresh water pool with swim up bar.

Source: Hayman Great Barrier Reef

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The Social Progress Index is a new metric that measures progress through fulfillment of basic human needs rather than traditional indicators of economic growth.

The index, designed by a team led by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, ranks countries on social and environmental measures that underline wellbeing and opportunity.

“The Social Progress Index shows that countries with similar levels of GDP can have very different levels of social progress,” Michael Green, Executive Director of the Social Progress Imperative, said.

One example: The U.S. leads OECD nations in total spending per capita on health care, but ranks only 11th of the 16 OECD countries in the Social Progress Index on health and wellness.

NOTE: There are several notable exceptions to the list of countries examined for the list, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Singapore, and New Zealand.

#10 You'll have a great life in Spain (if you can find a job).

Spain ranked 5th in Air, Water, And Sanitation but 27th in Shelter and 41st in Ecosystem Sustainability.

The country shined in regards to Opportunity, where it ranked 6th overall, 4th in Access to Higher Education, and 3rd in Equity and Inclusion.

The big issue for Spain is that 57.2% of under-25s are out of work, which means that frustrated youths are leaving in droves.

Source: Social Progress Imperative

#9 France is above-average all around.

France ranked 7th in Air, Water, And Sanitation but 14th in Shelter and 36th in Ecosystem Sustainability.

The country has middling ranks for Opportunity, where it ranked 11th overall. It ranks 8th for Personal Freedom and Choice and 11th for Personal Rights, but 15th for Equity and Inclusion and 14th in Access to Higher Education.

France's social policy lurched forward this week when the country legalized gay marriage after a harsh debate.

Source: Social Progress Imperative

#8 The Japanese feel safe and sheltered.

Japan ranked 1st in Shelter and 4th in Personal Safety, but lagged in Air, Water, and Sanitation (10th), Nutrition (12th), and Health and Wellness (10th). It also ranked 40th in Ecosystem Sustainability.

The country performs well in Personal Rights, where it ranked 8th, but ranked 26th in Personal Freedom and Choice, 20th in Equity and Inclusion, and 15th in Access to Higher Education.

Source: Social Progress Imperative

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This morning, the spire went up at One World Trade Center in Manhattan.

Once it's completed, the building will tower at 1,776 ft., making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere—but it still won't be the tallest building in the world.

That title still belongs to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat ranks the currently standing tallest buildings in the world, as well as proposed skyscrapers and those that are currently under construction. 

We looked at buildings that have already been completed, and those that are still under construction but have already reached record heights, to see where One World Trade falls.

#12 Guangzhou International Finance Center - Guangzhou, China. Height: 1439 feet

#11 KK100 - Shenzhen, China. Height: 1449 feet

#10 Willis Tower - Chicago, USA. Height: 1451 feet

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Billionaire hunters take note.

Research firm WealthInsight tracks high net worth individuals, and in their latest report, the firm has ranked the top 20 global cities where billionaires live, down to how many of them reside in each city.

We were surprised that there were only 70 in NYC, but it still tops the list, with Moscow, London and Hong Kong following in that order.

Check out the table below:

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Last year, everyone was talking about Angelina Jolie's leg, Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's divorce, the Olympics, and PSY's "Gangnam Style."

So far this year, Robert Downey Jr., Justin Timberlake, and J.J. Abrams have taken the spotlight with new films and the release of a new album.

Which celebrities aren't people talking about this year?

E-Poll crunched the numbers based on responses to 1,100 surveys to tell us which stars lost the most likeability.

15. Wiz Khalifa

Khalifa revealed spending nearly $10,000 on weed every month last year.

The singer just welcomed a son, Sebastian, in February and released a new EP in April.

14. Simon Baker

Baker is losing popularity, despite his CBS series "The Mentalist" being renewed for a sixth season.

13. Russell Brand

Brand was completely in the spotlight until his divorce from superstar ex-wife Katy Perry after two years together.

The comedian later said he and Perry were incompatible. 

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NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy website, analyzed the fifty largest U.S. metropolitan areas to find out which ones were the healthiest.

To come up with the list, NerdWallet looked at overall fitness, air cleanliness, health insurance coverage and access to physicians (You can read the full methodology here).

All of the cities that made the top 15 ranked highly across all categories, and most also had citywide public programs in effect to help their residents stay fit.

Boston took home the top spot this year. But cities in Colorado, Minnesota, and California also made it into the rankings.

#15 — Buffalo, NY

Overall Health Score: 59.4

Buffalo has one of the highest rates of health insurance coverage in the country at 92.4% of residents insured.

Its Green and Healthy Homes Initiative is also reducing lead poisoning and mold exposure for residents by repairing old homes.

NerdWallet looked at data from the American Fitness Index, the American Lung Association’s 2013 State of the Air report, and census data on health insurance coverage and the number of physicians per 100,000 residents. The 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. were included in the analysis.

#14 — Salt Lake City, UT

Overall Health Score: 59.7

The people of Salt Lake City have ample access to ski resorts, hiking trails, and fishing spots in their beloved hometown.

Residents tend to be insured and in shape, plus the clean air makes being outdoors all the more enjoyable.

NerdWallet looked at data from the American Fitness Index, the American Lung Association’s 2013 State of the Air report, and census data on health insurance coverage and the number of physicians per 100,000 residents. The 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. were included in the analysis.

#13 — Virginia Beach, VA

Overall Health Score: 61.5

The population of Virginia Beach benefits from clean air and ample health care.

There are also organizations like the Virginia Business Coalition on Health that encourages businesses to prioritize the health of their workers.

NerdWallet looked at data from the American Fitness Index, the American Lung Association’s 2013 State of the Air report, and census data on health insurance coverage and the number of physicians per 100,000 residents. The 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. were included in the analysis.

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For a good chance at a happy life, head to Australia, which one again topped the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Better Life Index, which looks at the quality of life in member countries.

The (OECD) — an international economic organization — analyzed 34 countries in 11 categories, including income, housing, jobs, community, education, environment, civic engagement, health, life satisfaction, safety, and work-life balance. (You can read the full methodology here.)

We looked at the countries with the highest overall scores, and highlighted a few of the criteria on the following slides.

#15 Ireland

Average household disposable income: $24,104

The Irish have a strong sense of community — 96% of people believe they know someone they could rely on in a time of need (higher than the OECD average of 90%).

They also rate highly in work-life balance, where the average employee works 1,543 hours a year, less than the OECD average of 1,776.

Researchers compared data from 34 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. They based the rankings on 11 factors including income, safety, life satisfaction, and health, and then rated each country on a 10-point scale. Income is net-adjusted and in USD.

#14 Luxembourg

Average household disposable income: $23,047

Luxembourg rates well in both health and environment, with an average life expectancy of 81 years and a low level of atmospheric PM10 — tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs.

Citizens also have a high participation rate in the political process, with 91% of the population turning out for recent elections.

Researchers compared data from 34 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. They based the rankings on 11 factors including income, safety, life satisfaction, and health, and then rated each country on a 10-point scale. Income is net-adjusted and in USD.

#13 Austria

Average household disposable income: $28,852

Austria has a high rate for education. 82% of Austrian adults ages 25-64 have earned the equivalent of a high school degree.

Austrians also have a strong sense of community, with 94% of the population reporting they know someone they could rely on in a time of need.

Researchers compared data from 34 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. They based the rankings on 11 factors including income, safety, life satisfaction, and health, and then rated each country on a 10-point scale. Income is net-adjusted and in USD.

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