Make room, Chicago Bulls.
The basketball team famed for its three-peat — winning a championship three straight years — has some company.
For the third consecutive year, Naperville has been named the Best City to Live in America by niche.com.
If that’s not enough to brag about, here’s another honor bestowed upon the city: B2B Reviews ranks Naperville as No. 10 on its list of Best Cities for Small Business in the U.S.
Maybe there’s something in the water as Naperville’s next-door neighbor, Aurora, was named the 6th best city for small businesses.
First things first, the best city to live in America has a lot going for it, according to Niche, which says “Naperville is a great place! It’s safe, has great schools, has a decent downtown and is close to Chicago and O’Hare.”
Cities were graded in 12 categories. Naperville received an A+ for public schools, health and fitness, and good for families, an A for outdoor activities, and an A- for housing, jobs, nightlife and diversity.
Naperville received a B+ for commuting, a B for crime and safety and a B- for cost of living.
The only grade that could be considered negative was the C+ for weather but, hey, that’s no secret as we again shiver in early spring.
Niche.com also ranked Naperville as No. 1 for “Best Cities to Buy a House in America,” “Best Cities to Raise a Family in America” and “Cities with the Best Public Schools in America.”
And it scored in the Top 20 in four categories: 13th for “Healthiest Places to Live in America” and “Healthiest Cities in America” and 15th for “Best Suburbs to Live in America” and “Best Cities to Retire in America.”
“Living in Naperville offers residents a dense suburban feel and most residents own their homes. In Naperville there are a lot of restaurants and parks,” according the Niche’s description of the city. “Many families and young professionals live in Naperville and residents tend to be liberal. The public schools in Naperville are highly rated.”
Cities were graded on cost of living, higher education rate, housing, public schools, diversity, a composite overall score, crime and safety, family life, health and fitness, jobs, nightlife, outdoor activities, walkability, weather and commuting.
You can find the 20th best city to live a bit north of the border.
Madison, Wisconsin, was praised as a “wonderful, progressive college town,” by Niche, which likes the “variety of interesting and unique things to experience.”
Naperville’s “big brother” if you will, Chicago, ranked 63rd on the list.
The other ranking finds that Naperville is evidently taking care of business quite well. B2B Reviews summed up why a smart and savvy entrepreneur should consider setting up shop in Naperville:
“The city has an average commercial rent of $19.28 per square foot. Naperville accounted for 0.081% of Illinois’ GDP, which is higher than 93% of the cities on our list.”
B2B liked that Naperville “has a higher-than-average median household income of $107,035, ranking it among the top 6% of cities on our list for that metric.”
“The city also has a higher-than-average percentage of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher, at 51.4% (the national average is 35%).”
And 68.3% of the population is in the labor force, which is higher than the average of 63%, B2B said.
To find the best U.S. cities for small businesses, B2B Reviews gathered a list of the most populous cities in all 50 states, based on the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
They compared the 236 cities across six key metrics, focusing on financial, workforce and consumer aspects important to business growth. Each city earned a score based on a weighted value. Once compiled, all cities received a final weighted score and were ranked accordingly.
Naperville’s neighbor to the west fared even better as Aurora ranked 6th on the list, according to B2B Reviews.
Aurora has a commercial real estate rent of $17.66 per square foot, below the national average of $32.77. The city contributed 0.081% to the state’s GDP, which places it in the top 10% of the cities on the B2B list for that metric.
Aurora’s median household income is $107,035, exceeding the national average of $75,149 and ranking it above 94% of the cities on the list.
“Aurora has a higher-than-average (35%) percentage of citizens with a bachelor’s degree or higher at 51.4%, as well as a higher-than-average (63%) percentage of labor force participants at 68.3%,” the release said.
So, the next time you’re sitting in traffic on Route 59 or have an hour to wait before your table is ready, you can take solace in the fact that Naperville and Aurora are the apple of many eyes.
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
