Ames and Iowa City Among Top 20 Places to Live in America

OK, 2020 has been a dumpster fire of a year. We can all agree on that. But don't be so quick to want out of living here in Eastern Iowa. The derecho withstanding, this part of the country is still a great place to live. Livability.com has just released it's Top 100 places to live in the USA list, and Iowa has landed two cities in the top 20!

Each year over 1,000 small to mid-sized towns are looked at to find that sweet spot of American living. Cities are judged on factors like safety, affordability, outdoor recreation, economic stability, and community engagement. This year, other factors were included  like broadband access, economic growth, and a variety of job numbers. According to Livability, the top 100 cities all have certain qualities in common. Connection, affordability, and the space and opportunity to grow. With that said, congratulations to Ames and Iowa City for making the top 20 in 2020!

Ames is of course the home of Iowa State University, the cities largest employer. Livability ranks Ames high on the list because of the fact the city is growing fast and the number of high quality job opportunities. Ames is affordable, and has a lot of things to do from college sports to the symphony. You can read more about what makes Ames great HERE.

Iowa City ranked at number 20 on this year's list! Livability says the city has a youthful vibe thanks to being home to the University of Iowa. But the city also has a sophisticated atmosphere too featuring tons of great restaurants, bookstores, and more. Iowa City is ranked highly due to it being a great place to start a business and the fact that the University of Iowa invests in Iowa based businesses. Read more about what makes Iowa City great HERE.

Also making the top 100 were Des Moines at #83 and Cedar Rapids at #94.