An Illinois City Is Named 2nd Best In America...But It's Not Chicago

By Rachel Cromidas in News on Apr 18, 2017 7:28PM

As if our perpetual status as the "second city" (or third city, or possible fourth city) wasn't enough, Chicago has a new rival to contend with: Naperville was named the second best city in America to live in, based on a new ranking, perplexing every Chicagoan who has rejected the thought of life in West suburban collar county.

Niche, a neighborhood data-ranking company, surveyed the crime rates, public school performance, cost of living and other factors in 228 cities and thousands of towns using federal data to come up with the rankings—and asked citizens for their opinions, too. Of nearly 400 respondents from Naperville, just two descried the place as a "terrible" place to live, and nearly 300 said it was either "very good" or straight up "excellent."

The top five rankings suggest that quieter, smaller cities with good schools and other family-oriented traits won out over the more obvious, expensive choices—Ann Arbor, Michigan was named the best city to live in, and Naperville was followed by Arlington, Virginia, Columbia, Maryland and Berkeley, California.

A current resident had this to say about Naperville in the Niche ranking, in case you still need some convincing that the "richest city in the Midwest" is also the best:

Naperville is a pleasant city, with a decent population size. This town is fairly safe, I never felt afraid walking outside. The downtown area has some lovely shopping and eating choices, but can be a little pricey some times. This town is definitely for middle-upper-middle class families, generally white collar people. For children there are several great junior and high schools to attend that will prepare them for college should they choose to do so. unfortunately there is little in the way of anything else for them to do, it will be a little boring for them. Naperville is located close to several other towns and cities and about 45 minutes from Chicago, so you can always drive out to find some nice entertainment or family fun night! There is an abundance of fast food and housing can be a little pricey too. Overall, a decent white collar area.

[H/T Tribune]