Rochester Again Ranked Near Top of ‘Best Places to Live’ List

We've always known that southeast Minnesota is one of the best places in the country, and now Liveability's latest '100 Best Places To Live' list confirms it...again.

Sure, every region likes to THINK they're the best place to live, right? I grew up behind the cheese curtain over in central Wisconsin and when I lived there, we liked to think that same thing. But Rah-Rah-Rochester really IS one of the best places to live-- and that's not just according to me, but is also according to the latest Liveability '100 Best Places To Live' list for 2020.

Liveability has been publishing their annual Best Places To Live list for the past several years, and Rochester has made several appearances on the list. And, we're back again this year too, which is pretty impressive. Here's how they went about putting together the list.

"We analyzed more than 1,000 small to mid-sized cities on factors like safety, affordability, economic stability, outdoor recreation, accessibility and community engagement. This year’s list was also informed by a new metric: an “opportunity score” we used to determine each city’s landscape of opportunity, including variables like job numbers, broadband access, economic resilience and growth," Liveability said. So where did Rochester come in on the list this year?

Well, this year, Rochester is ranked as the #5 Best Place To Live on Liveability's list. (5 out of 100?!? That's not too bad!) In fact, only Portland, Maine (#4); Madison, Wisconsin (#3); Ann Arbor, Michigan (#2); and Fort Collins, Colorado (#1) are better places to live than Rochester. Here's what Liveability said about our fair city:

If you know the Mayo Clinic, then you know Rochester. This city in southeastern Minnesota is the birthplace of the world-renowned medical center and, perhaps unsurprisingly, offers a warm, caring atmosphere for visitors and new residents alike. Rochester has a thriving downtown, handy transportation options and a stable economy. It’s also an affordable place to raise a family, with fun activities all year round.

And speaking of Rochester, just how well do you really KNOW Minnesota's Med City? Keep scrolling to see how many of these Rochester locations you can identify... from above!

Listen to Curt St. John from 6 to 10 a.m. on Quick Country 96.5
and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 103.9 The Doc