Three midwestern cities were named the best places to live in America, with several others making the top 100, according to a new report.
Livability named Madison, Wisconsin, Ann Arbor, Michigan and Overland Park, Kansas as the top three places to live among small to mid-sized towns across the U.S.
"Known for charming residents and visitors alike, Madison’s natural beauty is unparalleled, as it is built on an isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona and has more than 200 miles of hiking and biking trails, which means you’ll never run out of free ways to have fun," Livability wrote of Madison, Wisconsin.
Madison, college town for the University of Wisconsin, scored a livability score of 790, with its highest rankings in the health, remote ready and civics categories, the report showed.
Home to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor received a ranking just below that of Madison's with a score of 773 -- its highest categories being health, civics and amenities.
"This mid-sized community, located in the lower 'hand' of the Mitten State, is a leader in artificial intelligence, data security and life sciences," Livability wrote of Ann Arbor.
Overland Park, which the report says is the second-largest city in Kansas, received a score of 765, ranking highly in civics, education and health, according to the report.
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"Here to convince you the suburbs are cool is Overland Park, KS, where local artists have created colorful murals for all to enjoy and hiking trails meander through a serene 300-acre botanical garden," the report said.
Here's where some other midwestern cities fell on the list:
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- No. 18: Lincoln, Nebraska
- No. 20: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- No. 21: Bloomington, Indiana
- No. 28: Evanston, Illinois
- No. 32: Oak Park, Illinois
- No. 33: Cincinnati, Ohio
- No. 34: Troy, Michigan
- No. 40: Columbia, Missouri
- No. 51: Carmel, Indiana
- No. 53: Grand Rapids, Michigan
- No. 58: Iowa City, Iowa
- No. 64: Ames, Iowa
- No. 74: Fargo, North Dakota
- No. 77: Bismarck, North Dakota
- No. 81: Manhattan, Kansas
- No. 84: Lawrence, Kansas
- No. 88: Royal Oak, Michigan
- No. 91: Champaign, Illinois
- No. 93: Des Moines, Iowa
The report examined more than 1,000 small to mid-sized cities based on factors like safety, affordability, economic stability, outdoor recreation, accessibility and community engagement, Livability wrote.
