Boise is pretty amazing. The way downtown is nestled between the Boise River, is full of trees and has the majestic mountains behind is certainly something special. Then you add in incredible restaurants, urban nightlife, the rich history, unique places like Freak Alley and we have the ingredients for a spectacular state capitol.

Far and Wide ranked all 50 state capitols and Idaho's capitol of Boise did quite well and for great reasons. Far and Wide gathered quite a bit of research to determine why each capitol got its ranking. "WalletHub launched a list of the best state capitals to live in this year, ranking all 50 cities across a wide variety of categories, including affordability, education, economic well-being and quality of life. And the folks at RentLingo ranked all 50 based on charm. Using both rankings as well as city profiles from Niche, we dug a bit deeper and created our own ranking of the 50 state capitals."

Boise became the state capitol back in 1890 and has flourished since and continued to be the highest populated city in the state. Idaho's capitol scored 12th place in the country from this ranking. The reasons for a great ranking? Far and Wide says, "Downtown Boise is refreshingly urban, with upscale restaurants, bars and a flourishing art scene. It even has one of the largest Basque populations outside of Spain. Boise is also one of the best capital cities for outdoor enthusiasts, as it has a large network of hiking trails, forests and rivers, featuring some of the best whitewater rafting in the country."

We were only beat by the following:

Montpelier, Vermont

Olympia, Washington

Sacramento, California

Providence, Rhode Island

Nashville, Tennessee

Denver, Colorado

Raleigh, North Carolina

Annapolis, Maryland

Austin, Texas

Madison, Wisconsin

Boston, Masachusetts got the top spot.

Learn more about downtown Boise below...

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