Despite not having a professional sports team, a renowned music scene or world-class cultural institutions, Naperville is apparently a better place to live than Chicago. Niche.com released its 2017 roundup of the Best Cities to Live in America, and Naperville came in No. 2 on the annual list with an overall grade of A+.
The rankings relied on city data from the U.S. Census, FBI, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Centers for Disease Control, according to the website. Niche measured the quality of local schools, crime rates, housing trends, employment statistics, access to amenities and other factors to determine what it calls a "comprehensive assessment of the overall livability" (apparently, night life and public transportation were not among those factors).
Jokes aside, Naperville isn't a bad place to live, especially if you have generational wealth, want to drink fresh Two Brothers beer, enjoy forest preserves or are a suburban college student. Anyone outside of these demographics (or those who don't want to continuously ride the Metra to summer festivals) may be more comfortable amid the dynamic cultural milieu that is Chicago. After all, we were the first Second City, and we intend to keep it that way.
Here's Niche's complete list of the Top 10 Best Cities to Live in America:
1. Ann Arbor, Michigan
2. Naperville, Illinois
3. Arlington, Virginia
4. Columbia, Maryland
5. Berkeley, California
6. The Woodlands, Texas
7. Plano, Texas
8. Overland Park, Kansas
9. Boulder, Colorado
10. Irvine, California
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