In a follow-up to ranking the best cities in Michigan, Movoto Real Estate recently ranked what they believe are the 10 best cities in Illinois. The village of Northbrook earned the number one spot. Chicago did not make the list.
Movoto judged the cities based on amenities, cost of living, crime, education, employment and home value. The real estate group compared each category except amenities to the state average. For each of the variables, Movoto scored the state’s 50 biggest cities on a one to 50 (best to worst) scale. The firm averaged the scores for each city. The lower that total was, the better the city.
According to the list, Northbrook distanced itself from the rest by boasting a high school graduation rate 15 percent higher than the rest of the state. Movoto’s writer said Chicago did not make the top 10 because it’s a city not ideally built for living, but rather for living it up on the weekend.
Spots two through 10 were ranked as follows: Highland Park, Glenview, Park Ridge, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Arlington Heights, Downers Grove, Palatine and Mount Prospect.