(Radio Iowa) – Six Iowa cities rated in the top 250 places to live in this year’s rankings by U-S News and World Report, while one Iowa city placed in the top five. Erika Giovanetti, the magazine’s consumer lending analyst, says the Des Moines suburb of Ankeny ranked number-four on the national rankings, which is exceptionally good, considering they looked at more than 850 cities across the country.
“Ankeny ranks number 88 for desirability, which includes things like air quality, weather, culture, leisure, commute, and safety, so out of all of those metrics, Ankeny does very well,” Giovanetti says. “And job market did pretty well, so we’re looking at the employment index and income index, which is going to look at the unemployment rate, which was really low in Ankeny.”
Ankeny has a population of about 78-thousand, with a median age of 35. The median household income is nearly 108-thousand dollars, the average commute time is about 21 minutes, and the unemployment rate is two-and-a-quarter percent. Another community in the metro, West Des Moines, ranked 40th on this year’s list. Iowa’s second largest city, Cedar Rapids, placed at number 136, which Giovanetti says is still very respectable.
“We rank more than 850 cities, so a ranking of 136 is much better than most,” Giovanetti says. “Anything that we consider in the top 250 out of more than 850 is one of the best places to live in the country. So I would say that Cedar Rapids should, you know, keep doing what you’re doing.”
Council Bluffs came in at number-160, while Dubuque ranked 208th. The lowest-ranked Iowa city on the annual list is Sioux City, which rated 219th, which Giovanetti says is nothing to sneeze at, considering there well over 600 other cities ranked lower. “When I look at Sioux City at number 219, that’s a really high achievement to be able to make it into that 250,” Giovanetti says. “Sioux City does really well for value, which is the most important thing to consumers this year who are looking for affordability, they’re trying to stretch their dollar when looking for a new place to live.”
She says the rankings provide comprehensive evaluations of cities nationwide, based on how well they meet Americans’ expectations for where to live, with measures including affordability, quality of life, job market and desirability. Carmel, Indiana, was this year’s top place finisher. Ankeny placed 18th on last year’s list. Des Moines placed as high as number 5 in 2019.
