Marion 20th best small city in country

MARION - Marion has been named the 20th Best Small City in America by WalletHub, a website that helps consumers and small-business owners make financial decisions.

In its annual list of best small American cities, WalletHub listed Marion as the 20th Best Small City, under Parker, Colo., and above Maple Grove, Minn. WalletHub's analysts compared 1,268 cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 against four categories: affordability, economic health, education and health and quality of life. Each city could earn 25 points in each category, totaling 100, by scoring high in metrics. For example, in the quality of life category, a low average commute time would score a city 2.5 points. WalletHub used federal data to complete its analysis.

Marion received an overall score of 54.68, although no city received 100 points. Princeton, N.J., which topped the list, earned a 61.90 overall score. Marion placed 10 out of the 1,268 analyzed for affordability, which was measured by looking at housing costs, cost of living and homeownership rates. However, Marion landed in the middle of the pack in terms of quality of life, ranking 620 out of the 1,268 cities. The Quality of Life analysis examined mean hours worked per week, number of restaurants per 100,000 residents, percentage of millennial newcomers and other metrics.

Eight other Iowa cities ranked in the top 100: Ankeny ranked nine on the list, overall, as well as Urbandale at 12, Bettendorf at 32, Cedar Falls at 34, West Des Moines at 40, Dubuque at 68, Iowa City at 74, Ames at 79.

'It's nice to see that people outside of our area, nationwide, can recognize that Marion is a good community to live in,” said City Manager Lon Pluckhahn.