Minnesota residents ca be proud today. Money magazine, in their annual “Best Places to Live” list, put the Twin Cities’ suburb of Chanhassen number one on their list for 2021. It was one of three Minnesota towns that made their top 50.
Every year since 1987, Money has crisscrossed the nation in search of the finest places to call home, whether big (up to 500,000 people) or small (as low as 25,000 people). They look for amenities like grocery stores and a nearby hospital, but kept the focus on somewhat lesser known spots around the United States.
In Money’s methodology, they did remove towns for a few different reasons including a relatively high crime risk, median income levels lower than its state’s median, declining population and a lack of diversity.
There were 100 different metrics in categories such as cost of living, economic opportunity, education, fun, housing, quality of life and more.
When it came to the number one spot, Chanhassen, MN, Money says being the home of the late Minnesota musician Prince gives the locals a tremendous attraction.
“Chanhassen is home to Paisley Park, which was Prince’s home and studio in life and in death serves as a venue-slash-museum dedicated to the late musician. (Paisley Park is currently hosting an exhibition of 300 pairs of his custom shoes.) But Chanhassen offers more than a chance to laugh in the purple rain.”
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The magazine also touted Chanhassen’s proximity to Minneapolis, the space given to nature lovers, and the high lifestyle with a median home price of over $450,000 in 2021.
Other cities that hit the top ten were:
Carmel, Indiana
Franklin, Tennessee
Flower Mound, Texas
Ashburn, Virginia
Syracuse, Utah
Overland Park, Kansas
Centennial, Colorado
Scottsdale, Arizona
Ellicott City, Maryland
The other two Minnesota cities on the list were St. Paul suburb Woodbury at number 29 and far southern suburb Rosemount hitting number 32.
Read the entire list here and see if something close to your home qualifies as a “Best Place to Live” this year.