Madison was ranked 17th best U.S. city to live in
It’s easy to understand why
Niche, a website that helps you find a place to live based on your wants and needs, recently came out with their annual ranking of the best cities to live in America.
The site says they base their rankings off of “crime, public schools, cost of living, job opportunities, and local amenities.” The data came from the U.S. Census and other sources. With the rankings, people left reviews about why they feel the city they live in is a good choice for residence.
Niche provided a ranking of 100 cities, with Ann Arbor, Michigan ranking first and Cedar Rapids, Iowa being 100th. And our lovely home, Madison, Wisconsin, came in 17th. Out of over 400 reviews, we have a 4 out of 5 star rating.
Niche gave Madison an overall grade of an A+ with these being the breakdowns:
Good for families and commute: A+
Night life, outdoor activities, and health and fitness: A
Public schools and diversity: A-
Jobs: B+
Housing: B
Cost of Living: B-
Crime and Safety: C+
Weather: C
It’s no surprise that we ranked so high for schooling and night life… especially considering the UW-Madison campus. One shocking thing however is that we got an A- in diversity considering our campus is not very diverse, and I don’t think Madison, being a smaller city, is really diverse as much as larger areas are (though this rating also included economic diversity).
It’s also not too surprising that we ranked poorly on the crime scale, considering how many emails about sexual assault and robberies our student body gets alone, and then we have to think about what’s happening to the other 200,000 people living in this city. Also, on a personal note, I think cost of living should get at best a C. I think we can all agree that campus housing is a little ridiculous.
Overall, I’d have to agree with the ranking Madison received. We might not be a ‘real’ city compared to Chicago or even Milwaukee, but it’s a good size, with a good spacing of everything, a good campus, plenty of lakes and natures, and great places to eat, see and drink.
On, Wisconsin!