Provo has the best quality of life among 124 mid-sized metro areas in the United States, according to a new study.

Bizjournals, a national network of business publications, rated Provo ahead of every other mid-sized city of at least 50,000 people in the country. Boulder, Colo., and Madison, Wis., rounded out the top three, while El Paso, Texas, and Bakersfield and Visalia, Calif., came in at the bottom of the rankings.

Provo's healthy population growth, low unemployment rate and inventory of large homes -- more than a quarter in the area have at least nine rooms -- helped place it at the top of the list, according to the study. Other criteria looked at include median household income, percentage of residents with higher education degrees, and average commuting time to work.

The commendation is not new to Provo. In the past few years, the city has received the following recognitions:

• Nation's top city for commercial growth performance by The Milken Institute in 2008

• Metro area with highest volunteerism by The Corporation for National and Community Service in 2008

• One of "10 Great Places to Live, Work and Play" by Kiplinger's Personal Finance in 2008

• One of the "Best Cities for Married With Children" by Kiplinger's Personal Finance in 2007

• One of "50 Smart Places to Live" by Kiplinger's Personal Finance in 2006

• Eighth-safest mid-sized city by Farmers Insurance Group of Companies in 2005

• Ace Stryker can be reached at astryker@heraldextra.com.