Best City To Live In USA Series; Education

In the economy that we now live in, finding the best city to live in USA can seem like a impossible task but thanks to the folks over at Money even in this strapped environment there are pockets of hope and prosperity that still shine. These results are from towns between 50,000 and 300,000 in population from the top ten out of their top 100 list. Beyond that, this post specifically focuses on one thing to find the best city to live in America; education. In the following you will see how those cities stack up against one another using this one matrix. That matrix is how those students scored against their state averages or more accurately how many of them scored higher than the state average in both math and reading.

The best place to live in America is certainly more than this one matrix but it is meant to give a glimpse into the education system in each city and help you nail down part of what it would take to make the best place to live in USA. These are not necessarily the best state to live in either but it will give you a little piece of the puzzle as you start on your journey to find the best city to live in the United States. Here are the stats I promised you for each of the top 10 small towns live in, sorted by the average:

Test scores (% above state average)	reading	Math	AVG
Newton, MA	62.00%	89.00%	76%
Fishers, IN	44.80%	39.40%	42%
Plymouth, MN	37.70%	40.00%	39%
Eden Prairie, MN	41.50%	31.70%	37%
Bellevue, WA	18.70%	37.10%	28%
Fort Collins, CO	22.40%	24.90%	24%
Ames, IA	25.90%	19.50%	23%
Rogers, AR	21.60%	21.10%	21%
Overland Park, KS	15.30%	15.30%	15%
Columbia/Ellicott City, MD	10.10%	11.50%	11%
McKinney, TX	6.30%	7.10%	7%

There are many more things that you will want to consider as you go down this path to find your best place to live. Some of those you might want to consider are:

cheapest place to live USA	cities with the best home prices
safest place to live USA	best place to retire USA
cities with the best jobs	best state to live in USA
cities with the best entertainment	best city to live in the world
cities with the best weather	greatest city to live in america

Hopefully this series will open your eyes to the possibilities that are available to you in the United States and even the ones that may be available to you all over the world to find your best city, your cheapest places to live or even the best places to retire.

Best Place to Live in America

Here's an interesting little (?) study reported by CNN about the Best Places to Live in America. The list actually comes from Money's list of America's best small cities so, the 'small' part may skew the results somewhat. That said many people probably would agree that 'small' is better when it comes to lifestyle and quality of life. Drum role please....

Eden Prairie, Minnesota tops Money's list as the Best Place to Live in America.

Ismat Mangla reports that this small city is family friendly and has a "dynamite economy". For 2010 the unemployment rate was 5.1% which is almost one point less than the rate of the county and more than four percent lower the national average. This small city boasts 50,000 jobs right in town.

The major major companies in Eden Prairie are C.H. Robinson (A Fortune 500 trucking co); Starkey Labs (A major manufacturer of hearing aids) and the beloved Minnesota Vikings, who have their practice facility and their front office based right here in Eden Prairie.

Unlike many small cities in America Eden Prairie doesn't have a vibrant downtown. That's certainly something they could work on and benefit greatly from. If you read my post about San Luis Obispo you may have picked up on the fact they built their small city into the Happiest Place in America by revitalizing their downtown core with extra wide sidewalks and ordinance changes to encourage open air cafes and restaurants. The changes have been a boon for SLO. But that missing piece aside Eden Prairie has an abundance of outdoor beauty including gently rolling hills and 17 nearby lakes which local residents flock to for vacation and liesure. EP residents love their rural liesure pursuits like lake swimming in summer and ice skating in winter. Parks within and around the city are also a major part of the lifestyle here with more than 125 miles of running, hiking, and biking trails. With that kind of activity level it's no surprise that EP residents are among the healthiest people in America too. Finally to put icing on this lovely mid-west cake Eden Prairie is known for it's low crime rate (safety) and top of the class schools. What more does is needed to be one of the best cities in America? I can't think of much else!

A few stats about Eden Prairie:
Ranked #1 pf 100 (Winner) by Money Magazine as the Best Small City to Live in.
Population - 64,000
Unemployment Rate - 5.1%
Moody's Bond Rating - AAA