Iowa City named among top places for families to live by Fortune Well

IOWA CITY — Iowa City is among the 25 best places for families to live, according to an inaugural list launched by Fortune Well at the end of September.

The list highlighted areas in the United States where “multi-generational families are most likely to have access to critical resources, community support and financial well-being,” according to a news release.

Fortune Well is the health-focused subsidiary of Fortune Magazine.

Iowa City ranked No. 18 on the list. It was the only city in Iowa to make the list.

The top three places were Ann Arbor, Michigan; Wylie, Texas; and Olathe, Kansas.

Fortune found that seven in 10 Americans with at least one living parent said they expect to help take care of their parents as they get older. The “sandwich generation” — adults who care for both their aging parents and their own children — were the target population for the Fortune Well ranking.

To come up with the list, Fortune evaluated nearly 2,000 places across the country that had between 25,000 and 750,000 residents. Data was collected across five categories: education, aging resources, general wellness, financial health and livability.

Fortune worked with various data partners — including Caring.com, CVS, Healthgrades and ShareCare — and sourced data from the private-sector and from federal agencies.

There also was a focus on the quality of local school districts, nearby college affordability, quality nursing homes and access to solid health care providers, among other factors, due to the “unique challenges of this cohort.”

Housing prices and diverse neighborhoods also were factored in.

Fortune eliminated places where homes cost more than twice the state median or more than 2.75 times the national median. Fortune also eliminated areas where more than 90 percent of residents were non-Hispanic white.

No more than two places per state could be included in the list.

For Iowa City, among the features highlighted were the University of Iowa, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and how the city is a UNESCO City of Literature.

“Beyond higher education, over two-thirds of Iowa City’s public schools are rated average or above average,” Fortune Well pointed out. “The local hospital ranks higher than average, and residents have access to a number of senior care facilities.”

The median household income in Iowa City is $59,939. The median sale price for a single family home in 2022 is $267,161.

Comments: (319) 339-3155; izabela.zaluska@thegazette.com