Madison, Wis., Tops List of Livable Cities

L.A. Times Archives

June 13, 1996 12 AM PT

From Associated Press

NEW YORK —

Despite bitter-cold winters and snow extending through April, Madison, Wis., ranked as the best place to live in America, but Los Angeles/Long Beach is gaining, moving up 54 notches to 40th place in Money magazine’s annual readers poll released Tuesday.

Madison, home to a University of Wisconsin campus with 40,000 students and a vibrant economy boasting just 1.5% unemployment, beat out the nation’s other 299 biggest metropolitan areas to top the best-places list, which appears in the magazine’s July issue.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. June 14, 1996 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Friday June 14, 1996 Home Edition Business Part D Page 3 Financial Desk 1 inches; 34 words Type of Material: Correction
Best Places--In a graphic Wednesday on Money magazine’s poll on best places to live, San Francisco and San Diego were inadvertently omitted. San Francisco ranked 13th, up from 24th in last year’s survey; San Diego ranked 16th, up from 86th.

No California cities made the list’s top 10. San Jose, at No. 19, was the highest-ranking of the 23 California cities listed. It rose 25 notches from 44th place last year.

Sacramento, at 136th, made the greatest leap upward of any California city, moving from No. 247 last year.

Only one California city ranked in the bottom 10. At No. 299, Yuba City still showed improvement over its dead-last ranking in 1995.

Money’s survey of the best places has become an annual rite, generating extraordinary media attention. The list is compiled by polling readers to see what factors are most important to them, collecting data, and using the information to rank the 300 biggest metropolitan areas in the U.S.

The factors deemed most important this year were low crime rate, clean water, clean air, plentiful doctors, many hospitals, rising housing values, good schools, low property taxes, low income taxes and strong state government.

On the opposite end of the list, but not far from No. 1 Madison geographically, Rockford, Ill., ranked last at No. 300. Money cited subpar prospects for future job growth and a below-average health-care system.

Madison ascended to the top spot from last year’s 16th-place ranking. Following Madison this year in the top five were Punta Gorda, Fla. (last year’s No. 61); Rochester, Minn. (2); Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (6); and Ann Arbor, Mich. (33).

Rounding out the top 10: Fort Myers/Cape Coral, Fla. (34); Gainesville, Fla. (1); Austin, Texas (35); Seattle (4); and Lakeland, Fla. (41).

Money noted that for those put off by Madison’s cold climate--high temperatures during the winter average just 20 degrees--Florida took five of the top 10 spots for a second year running.

Besides having the lowest unemployment rate of the 300 places surveyed, Madison is home to more than 300 technology companies and 20,000 recession-resistant government jobs, the magazine said.

“Mad City, as locals call it, is also Fun City, especially if you like boats and bikes,” Money said. The magazine cited nearby lakes and bike trails, as well as cross-country skiing in the winter.

Last-place Rockford, in contrast, was noted for a work force that is apparently fleeing crime problems and steep property taxes in search of better opportunities.

Rockford’s last-place ranking represents a slip from No. 293 last year. Immediately above Rockford at the bottom of the list: Yuba City (300 last year); Peoria, Ill. (297); Davenport, Iowa (290); and Lima, Ohio (245).

Rounding out the bottom 10: No. 295 Springfield, Ill. (279); Mansfield, Ohio (235); Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y. (267); Waterbury, Conn. (114); and No. 291 Alexandria, La. (89).

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Call the Movers

The best places to live in the country, as ranked by Money magazine in its July issue. Listed are the top 10 plus those in California that made the cut. Numbers in parentheses show 1995 ranking.

1. Madison, Wis. (16)

2. Punta Gorda, Fla. (61)

3. Rochester, Minn. (2)

4. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (6)

5. Ann Arbor, Mich. (33)

6. Fort Myers/Cape Coral, Fla. (34)

7. Gainesville, Fla. (1)

8. Austin, Texas (35)

9. Seattle (4)

10. Lakeland, Fla. (41)

19. San Jose, Calif. (44)

40. Los Angeles/Long Beach, Calif. (94)