In a 2021 study, SmartAsset compared almost 300 cities with populations between 65,000 and 100,000 to identify and rank the most livable small cities. O'Fallon, MO came in at number ONE and St. Charles came in at number SEVEN! This is what that article found:
Midwest ranks at the top. So much that 8 out of the top 10 cities are from the Midwest. All eight of these cities rank within the top 70 (out of a total 291) for strong home affordability and within the top 60 of all cities for their low Dec. 2020 unemployment rate. The other two spots in the top 10 are claimed by cities in New York and Texas.
1. O’Fallon, MO
Just over 30 miles away from St. Louis, O’Fallon, Missouri leads our study as the most livable small city in America. The city ranks 11th for low income inequality, with a Gini coefficient of 0.36. In addition, it ranks 30th for its relatively low proportion of residents living below the poverty line, at 4.0%. Median housing costs equal just 16.93% of median household income in O’Fallon, ranking 19th for that metric in the study overall.
7. St. Charles, MO
Median housing costs amount to 16.33% of median household income in St. Charles, Missouri, ranking 15th in the study. St Charles has the 39th-highest concentration of healthcare establishments at the county level (13.44%) and the 55th-lowest Dec. 2020 unemployment rate (4.7%) – both top quintile rankings.
See more from this article: Smart Asset Most Livable Small Cities