Lisa Marie Farver,
Patch Staff
Posted Wed, Mar 22, 2023 at 9:48 am CT
NAPERVILLE, IL — Naperville once again snagged a spot on a "best of" roundup. This time, the suburb was named among the top 100 best places to live in America, according to rankings released Monday by Niche.
Naperville ranked fourth overall among Niche’s Best Places to Live in America and received high marks for its community diversity, its public schools and its family-friendly activities.
The list, the ninth consecutive, ranked 228 cities and 17,932 towns and neighborhoods. To compile it, Niche used federal data from the Census Bureau, FBI, Labor Bureau and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as reviews from residents.
Among others, factors considered are affordability, the local housing market, neighborhood diversity, the quality of public schools and walkability.
Naperville, which ranked No. 3 in the 2022 Niche study, received the following grades this year:
Public schools: A+
Housing: B+
Good for families: A+
Jobs: A-
Cost of living: C
Outdoor activities: A
Crime and safety: B-
Nightlife: B+
Diversity: A-
Weather: C+
Health and fitness: A+
Commute: B+
Niche also ranked Naperville highly in other categories:
No. 1 in Best Cities to Raise a Family in America
No. 1 in Cities with the Best Public Schools in America
No. 3 in Best Cities to Buy a House in America
According to Niche, the Top 25 places in Illinois are as follows:
- Bannockburn
- Long Grove
- Clarendon Hills
- Naperville
- Inverness
- Hinsdale
- Buffalo Grove
- Western Springs
- Kildeer
- Evanston
- Lincolnshire
- Lisle
- Vernon Hills
- Wilmette
- Kenilworth
- Northbrook
- Printer’s Row, Chicago
- Deerfield
- Oak Park
- La Grange Park
- Riverwoods
- Highland Park
- Libertyville
- Glenview
- Tower Lakes
The overall Best Place to Live in America is Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, which has claimed the title now for four consecutive years. Rounding out the top five are Colonial Village, Virginia; Ardmore, Pennsylvania; Hyde Park-Spanishtown Creek, Florida; and Penn Wynne, Pennsylvania.
Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the Best City to Live in America for the first time ever, Niche said
Rounding out the top five are Arlington, Virginia; The Woodlands, Texas; and Columbia, Maryland.
The Best Places to Live rankings are a tool to help people find a place to live based on the qualities that matter most to them, Niche said in a news release.
People who want to dig deeper into a specific area can compare cities, suburbs and neighborhoods with specific states, metro areas and counties. Among others, Niche has specialized lists for the best places for families, young professionals, homebuyers ad retirees.
Patch Editor Jeff Arnold contributed to this report
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