Blame old man winter and the cost of living for dragging down Naperville’s grades in Niche’s 2022 list Best Places to Live released this week.
Naperville ranked third behind No. 1 The Woodlands, Texas, in Niche.com’s Best City to Live in America.
Where Naperville continually outranks the Houston suburb is the categories of best city to raise a family and the city with the best public schools in America. Naperville is No. 1 again in both, and The Woodlands trails at No. 2 for raising a family and No. 6 for its schools.
Naperville also ranks third behind No. 2 The Woodlands in Niche’s 2022 Best Cities to Buy a House in America.
Naperville scored a No. 19 spot in two categories dominated by West Coast cities: Healthiest Cities in America and Healthiest Places to live in America.
Of the top 20, Naperville was the only Midwest city, though 15 of the “healthiest” are located in California, Washington and Hawaii.
Like The Woodlands, Naperville earned an A+ grade overall and for its public schools and being a good location for families.
Where the cities differ is with weather and the cost of living.
The Woodlands received a B+ grade for weather and B- for its cost of living, whereas Naperville earned a C+ and C, respectively.
Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows temperatures in The Woodlands in January, the coldest month of the year, average 63 degrees for a high and 41 degrees for the low. The average high in August, the hottest month, is 96 degrees, with a low of 74.
In Naperville, NOAA reports January also is the coldest month with temperatures averaging 31 degrees for a high and 13 for a low. But July is the hottest, with an average high of 84 degrees and average low of 62 degrees.
Niche has produced its annual rankings for eight consecutive years by analyzing 228 cities and 18,515 towns and neighborhoods based on data from the U.S. Census, FBI, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention combined with millions of resident reviews. The company said it also considers such factors as affordability, local housing market, neighborhood diversity, area public schools and walkability.
Millions of people each year use the ranking, according to Niche, when making key life decisions, such as where to live and where to go to school.
“Whether our users are young professionals, parents with young kids or retirees, Niche’s Best Places to Live rankings serve as an excellent starting point for considering a move,” Luke Skurman, CEO and founder of Niche, said in a news release.
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“The pandemic triggered a new set of possibilities — suddenly, many individuals and families found themselves more mobile than ever before, and in the past two years they have continued to think hard about where they really want to live,” Skurman said.
“Families wondering about an area’s school district, a major part of many relocation decisions, can also use our comprehensive school profiles and rankings to get a sense of what their child’s future school might be like,” he said.