Naperville again named among top 100 places to live in America
Livability.com this week unveiled its 2025 Top 100 Best Places to Live list, an appraisal of mid-sized cities across the country in which a whole host of data points, from cultural amenities to air quality, were considered. Naperville made the cut, scoring No. 1 on factors of health.
This is the 12th annual year that Livability, a division of Tennessee-based Journal Communications Inc., has published its Top 100 list. Naperville found itself on the list last year, too.
Livability's appraisal isn't a ranking 1 to 100 per se, but rather an assembly of places that, according to the publication, fared well on a holistic set of considerations. The idea is that users can interact with the list and create a personalized ranking of their best places to live, Livability says.
Only cities with populations between 75,000 to 500,000 were considered, per Livability's website. The list also took into account cities' affordability, only including cities with a median home value of $500,000 or less.
'As Americans face shifting economic conditions in a year wrought with inflation, evolving work dynamics, and a growing desire for a better quality of life, our 'Top 100 Best Places to Live' list celebrates the cities where Americans are creating dream careers, building families, launching businesses and leading meaningful lives,' Livability's editor-in-chief Amanda Ellis said in a news release.
In all, Livability bases its list on about 100 different data points. Those divide into eight broad categories: economy, housing and cost of living, amenities, transportation, environment, safety, education and health.
Data is pulled from both public and private sources. Federal sources include the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Department of Homeland Security. Private sources include satellite imagery and business associations.
Based on their performance across factors, cities earned a grade, or a 'LivScore.' More than 2,000 cities that fit its population parameters for 2025 were evaluated before the group was narrowed down to the top 100 scoring cities.
Naperville scored a LivScore of 841 out of 1,000. The only other places to score higher than Naperville overall were the Texas towns of Flower Mound and Sugar Land and Carmel, Indiana.
But Naperville took the top grade in health, earning the highest LivScore — 91 — in the category.
Data points that factored into the list's health rating included life expectancy, doctor and hospital access, and prevalence of health concerns, such as diabetes, asthma and cancer, according to Livability.
Other top categories for Naperville included education and safety.
As part of its 2025 list, Livability wrote about Naperville: 'Located on the outskirts of Chicago, Naperville residents have it all. Top-rated schools, pristine parks and a busting downtown offer a high quality of life. Throw in a low-cost of living and a tight-knit community, and it's easy to see why Naperville residents love living in this Midwest city.'
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