Evanston Named Among “America's Best Cities to Live”

Evanston took the no. 5 slot

There are a lot of cities to live in in the U.S., and apparently one of the best cities is a Chicago suburb.

Financial news site 24/7 Wall St. on Wednesday released a list of “America’s 50 Best Cities to Live” and Evanston took the no. 5 slot.

The rankings were based on data from 550 cities with populations of 65,000 or more and included information on crime rates, employment growth, educational attainment and housing affordability.

“Perhaps surprisingly, none of America’s largest cities are on this list,” researchers wrote in a release by 24/7 Wall St. “There is no New York, Los Angeles, or Houston among the best places to live. Nearly all of the biggest cities in the country by population had crime rates that automatically excluded them from consideration.”

Evanston was ranked highly on the list thanks to a median household income of $68,169, an unemployment rate of 7.2 percent in 2013, a median home value $360,900 and a violent crime rate per 100,000 residents at 304.7. The average commuter travel time was also listed at 28.4 minutes.

The city was also cited for having one of the highest educational attainment rates in the nation.

The top 10 cities to live in were:

1. Newton, Massachusetts

2. Bellevue, Washington

3. Mountain View, California

4. Pleasanton, California

5. Evanston, Illinois

6. Irvine, California

7. Troy, Michigan

8. Cary, North Carolina

9. Flower Mound, Texas

10. Johns Creek, Georgia

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