Find out why these 9 Illinois cities landed on national rankings

Nine Illinois cities excel in affordability, quality of life and safety, according to recent national rankings.

Springfield, Illinois, was highlighted as a top affordable city for homebuyers.

Five Illinois cities were named among the "Top 100 Best Places to Live in the US in 2025." They were Bloomington, Champaign, Peoria, Naperville and Evanston.

Bloomington ranked second in SmartAsset’s list for livability among small U.S. cities, noted for affordable housing and health care access.

Four Illinois cities were named among the “25 Safest Places to Live in the U.S. in 2025-2026” by U.S. News & World Report. There were Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Naperville and Palatine.

Read more in the stories below:

NO. 1: 5 ILLINOIS CITIES NAMED AMONG ‘TOP 100 BEST PLACES TO LIVE IN THE US IN 2025’

St. Louis also made the list, published by Livability. | Published May 16, 2025 | Read Full Story by Meredith Howard

NO. 2: ILLINOIS CITY NAMED AMONG THE TOP 20 MOST AFFORDABLE PLACES TO BUY A HOME IN US

Overall, nine Illinois spots made it into the top 300 U.S. cities for homebuying, a new report says. | Published May 23, 2025 | Read Full Story by Meredith Howard

NO. 3: 4 ILLINOIS CITIES CRACK US NEWS & WORLD REPORT’S ‘SAFEST PLACES TO LIVE’ IN AMERICA

A city in Georgia took the top spot. | Published July 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Meredith Howard

NO. 4: THIS IL SPOT IS THE SECOND ‘MOST LIVABLE SMALL CITY’ IN THE US, ANALYSIS FINDS

An Illinois city was recently named the second “most livable small city” in the U.S., and it’s not in Chicagoland. | Published August 22, 2025 | Read Full Story by Meredith Howard

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.