Bloomington-Normal Ranked Among Best Places in the Nation

The community beyond Illinois Wesleyan's campus has much to offer while you're in school and when you graduate.

But don't just take our word for it. The Twin Cities of Bloomington-Normal have been ranked among the best places in the nation:

• #2 best metro area in the nation to live, work and have fun – Smart Asset (2023)
  
  
• Top 10 Most Livable College Towns - Strategistico (2022)
  
  
• #1 Happiest Cities - Zippia (2020)
  
  
• #23 America's Best Small Cities – Best Cities (2020)
  
  
• Among "30 Small College Towns with Great Quality of Life" – Best Choice Schools (2020)
  
  
• #1 Top City for Recent College Graduates – PennyGeeks.com (2019)
  
  
• #10 Top College Towns –  Business Insider, 2017
  • and #1, Best American Cities to Live In After the Pandemic, 2020
• #8 Most Livable Small Cities in the U.S. – SmartAsset (2018) 
  
  
• Among "The 50 Best College Towns with the Best Music Scenes" – GoodDeedSeats (2018)
  
  
• #10 – Best College Towns – American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) (2017)
  
  
• Among the Top 10 Most Affordable Metro Areas Attracting Young Professionals – The Pew Charitable Trusts (2017)
  
  
• #3 – Best Small College Towns – USA Today (2016)
  
  
  
• #4 - Best Cities for New Graduates – ValuePenguin (2016)
  
  
• 11 Amazing Cities You’ve Never Thought To Live In, But Should – Huffington Post (2016)
  
  
• #3 – Best Job Destinations for College Grads (Smallest Metros) – American Institute for Economic Research (2016)
  
  
• #3 – The 25 Best Small College Towns – MSN Money (2016)
  
  
• #15 for Best Cities for New College Grads Nationally – Zumper (2016)
  
  
• #1 Most Educated City in Illinois, and one of the most educated in the country – Yahoo! Finance (2016)
  
  
• #7 – Best Small Cities for Educated Millennials –  Business Insider (2015)
  
  
• Google eCity Award  – Bloomington Named the Strongest Online Business Community in Illinois (2015)
  
  
• # 25 – Best Small Places for Business and Careers –  Forbes  (2015) 
  Forbes considered 12 metrics in compiling the rankings, including past and projected job growth; the cost of doing business and the cost of living; income growth; educational attainment; projected economic growth;  quality of life issues, such as crime rates, cultural and recreational opportunities and net migration patterns; and the number of highly ranked colleges in an area.
  
  
• One of the 50 Best College Towns in America –  Best College Reviews  (2014)
  
  
• #9 – Most Exciting Places in Illinois –  Movoto Blog  (2014)
  
  
• # 1 – Best Cities for Singles – Kiplinger (2013)
  
  
• # 2 – Top Places to Find a Job – Beyond.com (2013)
  
  
• #4 – Top 10 Cities on the Rise –  NerdWallet.com (2013)
  
  
• # 11 – Fastest-Growing Cities – NerdWallet.com (2013)
  Read coverage from The Pantagraph, with comments from Illinois Wesleyan economist Michael Seeborg.
  
  
• # 15 – Top Cities for Recent College Graduates – The Atlantic (2011)
  Read coverage from The Pantagraph.
  
  
• 100 Best Communities for Young People – The America's Promise Alliance and ING (2011)
  Bloomington-Normal was the only community in Illinois to receive the designation.
  
  
• # 17 – Geekiest City –  Forbes  (2011)
  Based on "Science and Engineering Indicators 2010," where the National Science Foundation ranked the top cities by percentage of workers with jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.