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 #4 on the national rankings, which is exceptionally good, considering they looked at more than 850 cities across the country.
Ankeny has a population of about 78,000, with a median age of 35. The median household income is nearly $108,000, the average commute time is about 21 minutes, and the unemployment rate is 2.25%. West Des Moines ranked 40th on this year’s list, while Iowa’s second largest city, Cedar Rapids, placed at number 136.
Council Bluffs came in at #160, while Dubuque ranked 208th. The lowest-ranked Iowa city on the annual list is Sioux City, which ranked 219th.
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. Find out more online at www.usnews.com.
