4 Illinois Communities Among Best Places To Live By U.S. News

ILLINOIS— Four cities in Illinois are among the 2023-2024 Best Places to Live in the country, according to a ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report.

The new list evaluates the 150 biggest U.S. metropolitan areas based on value, competitiveness of the job market and quality of life.

In Illinois, two metro areas ranked in the top 50.

The Quad Cities area, including Moline and Rock Island, ranked at 54, the highest of any metro area in Illinois. It moved down one position compared to last year’s rankings, which put it at No. 53. U.S. News pointed out that despite its name, the Quad Cities is actually home to five cities: Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa; and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline, Illinois.

"Each is distinct, but with downtowns clustered along the same riverfront and collaborations across business, service and the arts, the area offers many of the amenities you’d expect from one larger city," U.S. News said, adding, "Rock Island’s historic downtown includes a pedestrian mall with a popular nightlife area known as The District. "

The Quad Cities scored 6.4 overall, with a 5.1 for desirability, 7.9 for value, 5.4 for job market and 6.6 for quality of life.

Other Illinois metro areas ranked by U.S. News include Peoria, which ranked at No. 70, down 20 spots from its No. 50 ranking last year. According to U.S. News, "Peoria had a slight increase in desirability, but still scored lower than the overall average of all 150 places," as well as seeing a decrease in value. U.S. News called Peoria a "brawling, bruising, sometimes bawdy and always big-hearted river town," which "survived Prohibition and the Rust Belt, and it now turns its attention to health care, autonomous vehicles, ag-tech and ecotourism." You can buy a lot of house for relatively little money in some of the city's urban neighborhoods, and old warehouses are becoming entertainment districts with offerings for foodies and theater buffs, it said.

Peoria scored 5 for desirability, 8 for value, 5.1 for its job market, 6.7 for quality of life and 6.3 overall.

Chicago ranked at No. 123, down from its No. 79 spot in 2022, and Rockford came in at No. 133, compared with 127 last year.

Chicago scored 5.9 overall, with a 5.4 for desirability, 5.7 for value, 5.7 for job market and 6.4 for quality of life. "Your experience living in Chicago will depend on your ZIP code. From Uptown to Hyde Park, East Garfield to the Loop, each of the city's 77 official community areas brings a unique personality," U.S. News said. From summer fests to fireworks in the summer and holiday cheer in the winter, the city offers a mix, but its Midwestern friendliness can wear off as the weather turns cold, according to U.S. News: "As the weather begins to border on unbearably cold, Chicago residents lose their patience, acting as if they're in a hurry to be somewhere – whether or not that's actually the case."

Meanwhile, U.S. News clarified that "Rockford is no suburb," with its own attractions including a minor league hockey team, downtown entertainment arena, the outdoor Starlight theater and a Japanese garden.

"Rockford’s economy has long relied on manufacturing, but its major industries have evolved over time. In the 1920s, Rockford was one of the country’s largest makers of furniture," U.S. News said. "Then, it became the nation’s top producer of fasteners, earning it the nickname Screw Capital of the World. Today, Rockford’s economy is tied tightly to the aerospace industry. It also has three large hospital systems and serves as a logistics hub, with a large cargo airport and access to Interstate 90."

Rockford scored a 5.7 overall, with a 4.9 for desirability, 7.4 for value, 3.8 for job market and 6.1 for quality of life.

For the first time this year, U.S. News added methodology to measure a place’s strengths and weaknesses. The desirability index takes into consideration the number of days a year the temperature falls from 33 to 89 degrees Fahrenheit, and an establishment-to-population ratio, which assesses the number of restaurants, bars and activities per 1,000 people.

Also this year, U.S. News moved its net migration category to the desirability index. And the value index, which previously focused only on housing affordability, now includes price parity — a U.S. Census data point on the general cost of goods within an area.

“This year’s rankings are a reflection of the current economic, social and natural factors that impact a place’s livability for its residents,” Devon Thorsby, real estate editor at U.S. News, said in a news release.

“People are considering more than housing when they look at an area’s affordability — they want to know how much goods cost in that area,” Thorsby said. “The ever-present risk for severe weather and a community’s ability to recover — coupled with the area’s opportunities for social activities — are also taken into account when evaluating a best place to live.”

This year, Green Bay, Wisconsin, moved up two positions in the ranking to No. 1, due to its strong value and quality of life scores. Huntsville, Alabama, moved down to No. 2. At No.8, Charlotte, North Carolina, moved up 20 spots, and No. 6 Naples, Florida, re-entered the Top 10 after falling off last year.

Some places saw double-digit drops and fell out of the top 50. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, fell a steep 81 spots this year, coming in at 113 from 32, with lower scores across the index.

Seattle, Washington, saw an increase in its job market score, but declines in its quality of life, desirability and value scores resulted in a 45-spot drop in this year's ranking. Consequently, Seattle came in at No. 81, down from No. 36 last year. Kalamazoo, Michigan, saw a sharp drop, falling 40 spots from No. 50 to No. 90. While it only slightly decreased in value, it scored on the moderate/lower end of desirability and job market.

U.S. News based its ranking on data from the National Weather Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Census Bureau, the FBI, the Labor Bureau, Sharecare and its own rankings on the nation’s best high schools and best hospitals.