FORT COLLINS - Next Generation Consulting has selected Fort Collins as the best place to live for young professionals among cities with populations of 100,000 to 200,000.

NGC said it used 45 measures to develop lists of cities in three population categories for its "Next Cities" lists of best places for people between the ages of 20 and 40 to live and work. The criteria included employment, education and social opportunities.

"The Next Generation is very savvy about choosing where they'll live," said Rebecca Ryan, NGC's founder. "They look carefully at quality-of-life factors like how much time they're going to spend in traffic commuting, if they can live near a park or hike-and-bike trail and whether a city's downtown stays awake after 5:00."

Denver placed No. 5 on NGC's list of cities with populations over 500,000. NGC has been ranking cities since 1998.