The 20 best cities in the Midwest to live in after the pandemic
Madison Hoff
- Business Insider recently looked at the best US cities to live in after the coronavirus pandemic.
- Many of those cities were located in the Midwest region.
- We took a look at the top cities in our ranking in the Midwest.
- Five of the top 20 cities were in Iowa, including Des Moines and Iowa City.
The Midwest seems to be a great place to move to after the novel coronavirus pandemic subsides, based on our recent analysis of US cities.
Business Insider created an overall ranking of the best cities to move to after the pandemic using different economic, educational, and employment metrics along with other measures that someone may factor in when deciding where to move next.
All nine of our metrics were standardized using z-scores so that we could then add the values together to get an overall index for each city.
For more information on our overall method and list of data sources, click here.
It is important to note that these figures are from before the pandemic, so it is likely some of these cities may have been more financially and economically impacted than others during this unprecedented time.
For instance, Springfield, Illinois, which ranked at the top of our list, had a pre-coronavirus unemployment rate close to the national average. However, in April, its unemployment rate had shot up to 15.3%, 0.6 percentage points above the national rate of 14.7%. Cities that also rely heavily on college spending and employment may also see big negative impacts from campus closures and uncertainty about the upcoming fall semester, based on reporting from the Wall Street Journal.
In our national ranking, cities in the Midwest region as defined by the US Census Bureau dominated the top of the list. Read on to see the best cities in the Midwest to move to after the pandemic.
20. Omaha, Nebraska
About 38.9% of jobs can be done from home in Omaha, the 13th-highest share among metro areas in the Midwest. About 36.5% of people in Omaha who are at least 25 years old have at least a bachelor's degree, the 19th-highest share in this region.
19. Green Bay, Wisconsin
This metro area's cost of living is 10.2% lower than the national average. Green Bay tied for the 17th-lowest weekly commute among metro areas in the Midwest at three hours and seven minutes.
18. Columbus, Indiana
Columbus' average housing cost of $846 a month is lower than most metro areas in the Midwes, and the metro area's cost of living is 11.1% lower than the national average. Columbus' pre-coronavirus unemployment rate of 2.3% was also was lower than the US unemployment rate in February.
17. Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City's pre-coronavirus unemployment rate was 2.2%, tied for the sixth lowest among all US metro areas and lower than the national rate in February. About 36.1% of jobs could be done from home, which is higher than most metro areas in the Midwest.
16. Lansing, Michigan
About 41.0% of jobs could be done from home in Lansing, the sixth-highest share among metro areas in the Midwest. Lansing's school district with the most students enrolled had the 19th-highest total spending per pupil in elementary and secondary public schools in this region, at $14,255 per pupil. This also ranks high among all US metro areas.
15. Wausau, Wisconsin
In Wausau, 77.5% of households spend less than 30% of their income on housing, the fourth-highest share among all US metro areas. Among metro areas in the Midwest, Wausau has one of the lower population densities at 67.4 people per square mile.
14. Madison, Wisconsin
About 42.6% of jobs could be done from home in Madison, the fourth-highest share among metro areas in the Midwest. The Madison metro area school district with the most students enrolled had the 15th-highest total spending per pupil in elementary and secondary public schools in the region, at $14,444 per pupil.
13. Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque's cost of living is 10.4% lower than the national average, which is better than most metro areas in the Midwest. Additionally, the metro area has the fifth-shortest weekly commute in the region at two hours and 54 minutes. Dubuque has better housing affordability than most US metro areas, with about 74.1% of households spending less than 30% of their income on housing.
12. Lincoln, Nebraska
About 39.1% of jobs could be done from home in Lincoln, the 12th-highest share among metro areas in the Midwest. The pre-coronavirus unemployment rate was 2.7%, 0.8 percentage points less than the national rate in February.
11. La Crosse, Wisconsin
The La Crosse metro area school district with the most students enrolled had the 17th-highest total spending per pupil in elementary and secondary public schools in the region, at $14,413 per pupil. About 73.7% of households spend less than 30% of their income on housing, which is higher than most US metro areas.
10. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
About 75.9% of households in Cedar Rapids spend less than 30% of their income on housing, the 13th-highest share among all US metro areas. The weekly commute is relatively short compared to other metro areas in the Midwest at three hours and nine minutes.
9. Columbia, Missouri
Columbia's weekly commute of two hours and 58 minutes is the 18th-shortest among all US metro areas and the ninth-shortest among metro areas in the Midwest. The metro area also has a low cost of living at 10.7% lower than the national average.
8. Bismarck, North Dakota
Bismarck is great for people who don't want to live too close to others, with a population density of around 30.1 people per square mile, the fourth-lowest population density in the Midwest. About 76.7% of households in Bismarck spend less than 30% of their income on housing, the ninth-highest share among all metro areas.
7. Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines has the 17th-highest share among all US metro areas of jobs that could be done from home, at 42.7%. Des Moines also has one of the highest housing affordability scores in the Midwest, and about 74.2% of households spend less than 30% of their income on housing.
6. Ames, Iowa
Ames' cost of living is 8.5% lower than the national average. Before the coronavirus, Ames was tied for the second-lowest unemployment rate at 2.0% in the US in February. This metro area also has one of the shorter weekly commutes among all metro areas at three hours and two minutes.
5. Champaign, Illinois
The Champaign metro area school district with the most students enrolled had the 20th-highest total spending per pupil in elementary and secondary public schools, at $17,606 per pupil. This city is also among the metro areas in the Midwest with the highest share of jobs that could be done from home at 38.2%.
4. Bloomington, Illinois
This metro area has the 10th-highest share of jobs that could be done from home among metro areas in the Midwest at 39.4%. Bloomington's pre-coronavirus unemployment rate was close to the national average at 3.2%. The cost of living in this metro area is also 7.9% lower than the national average.
3. Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo has one of the lowest population densities among metro areas in the Midwest at 87.6 people per square mile. Among all US metro areas, the pre-coronavirus unemployment rate was the fourth lowest at 2.1%. Fargo also had one of the shortest weekly work commutes, tied for the 10th-lowest among all metro areas at two hours and 52 minutes.
2. Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City's cost of living was 18.3% lower than the national average, the second-lowest cost of living among metro areas in the Midwest, and the fifth-lowest among all US metro areas. The metro area also has the seventh-highest share of jobs that could be done from home among metro areas in the Midwest at 40.3%.
1. Springfield, Illinois
Springfield took the top spot in our overall list. The metro area's pre-coronavirus unemployment rate was the same as the national rate at 3.5% in February. Among metro areas in the Midwest, this metro area has the second highest share of jobs that could be done from home at 42.9%, and this was the 16th-highest share among all US metro areas.
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