One Illinois Spot Lands On “Most Livable Small Cities In US” List

Maybe you've noticed a pattern.

Unless the study is about the most rat or bedbug infested cities in the nation (Chicago is your multiple-year winner in both those categories), whenever one of these pieces is throwing out superlatives about Illinois cities and towns it's almost always going to give the title to Galena.

Not this time, though.

Galena has been tagged with titles like:

• Most charming
• Most romantic
• Best small town
• Most Christmassy town
• Most historic town
• Most scenic town

Galena may have those really cool titles, but it is not the most livable city or town in the United States, at least according to a new study at SmartAsset.com, a well respected financial-advice site.

So, place your bets. Which Illinois city is one of the most livable cities in the country?

According To The SmartAsset Study, The Most Livable City In The US Is In Minnesota

According to the piece, the ten cities were ranked based on a number of factors, including housing affordability, poverty and unemployment rates, health insurance coverage, access to healthcare, entertainment facilities, and commute times, according to data from the Census Bureau’s one-year American Community Survey.

The study looked at more than 270 American cities with populations between 65,000 and 100,000 people. Of the 15 cities ranked, 12 were in the Midwest.

Coming in at number-one as the most livable city in the nation, it's Plymouth, Minnesota:

Plymouth ranked as among the top 10% of cities for multiple factors. With 98.7% of the population covered by health insurance, the wider community has the most peace of mind for medical care. The housing market is relatively among the most affordable, with just 17.5% of the median $130,793 household income going to monthly payments. Poverty and unemployment were also among the lowest study-wide, at 5.1% and 2.1%, respectively.

Plymouth, Minnesota May Be Number-One, But An Illinois City Grabs The Number-Two Spot Nationally

And that livable city is...

I Think It's A Bit Strange Than Bloomington Gets The Accolades For Being One Of The 15 Most Livable Cities In America, But Next-Door Normal, Illinois Gets Nothing

But, that's a problem the two cities can just work out amongst themselves. Here's what SmartAsset.com listed as Bloomington's attributes:

• Population: 78,591
• Housing costs as a percentage of income: 18.16%
• Median monthly housing costs: $1,174
• Median monthly household income: $77,577
• Poverty: 8.2%
• Unemployment: 2.35%
• Residents with health insurance coverage: 96.48%
• Total number of businesses: 3,481
• Concentration of food service and accommodation businesses: 0.12065
• Concentration of arts, entertainment, and recreation businesses: 0.02154
• Concentration of healthcare businesses: 0.10542
• Average commute time (minutes): 17.3

The full list:

1. Plymouth, Minnesota
2. Bloomington, Illinois
3. Livonia, Michigan
4. O'Fallon, Missouri
5. Ankeny, Iowa
6. Lakeville, Minnesota
7. Flower Mound, Texas
8. Eau Claire, Wisconsin
9. Appleton, Wisconsin
10. St. Charles, Missouri
11. Maple Grove, Minnesota
12. Redondo Beach, California
13. Noblesville, Indiana
14. Oshkosh, Wisconsin
15. Cheektowaga, New York