City of Meridian - Cracks the Top 50

We did it! We cracked the top 50 in two listings rating the best places to live in the U.S.

Money Magazine is no stranger to Idaho, and certainly, to Meridian. The magazine named Meridian to its 2014 list of Top 50 Best Places to Live. This is the fourth time the City of Meridian has received this recognition with a ranking of 49 and is the only city in Idaho to make the list.

The publication alternates ranking cities or towns each year, citing their favorability and “livability” scores. For this year, the criteria included cities with a population between 50,000 and 300,000. The magazine started with a pool of 781 cities, and through research and analytics, shaved the list down to the top 50. Other criteria included: median household income, job growth, housing prices, test scores, crime rates and overall quality of life.

“One of the things I love most about Meridian is the people. We are truly blessed with some

of the most giving, selfless private and corporate citizens a community could ever hope for,” said Meridian Mayor Tammy de Weerd. “We have a community that gives back and it’s great to see this recognized in such a prestigious publication.”

In the story, Meridian was heralded for its “giving” community and strong corporate citizenship model, citing the $25 million dollar gift to develop Kleiner Park, as well as the anonymous gift in 2012 of a food bank. Other attributes contributing to Meridian’s ranking included the varied options for dining, shopping, proximity to a plethora of outdoor recreation venues and the strong economic climate. Two local business entities called out in the article include The Village at Meridian and Scentsy. The complete list available at 2014 Money Magazine Best Places To Live.

To our further delight, another online business publication rated Meridian as the 22nd most desirable place in which to live. For the full article and listing, go to 24/7 Wall Street Most Desirable Places To Live.

And to top off the round of accolades, we’re also in an enviable position of being named the third safest city in Idaho. According to the online real estate blog movoto.com that looks at towns across the state, they started with a list of places in Idaho with populations of 5,000 or more. Crime data was then gathered for each place from the 2012 FBI Uniform Crime Report assessing murders, violent crimes, property crimes and total crimes. To read more about the assessment and listing, go to Safest Idaho Cities.

We should be proud of all of these accomplishments and the recognition that our fine city deserves. What a blessing it is to live in Meridian!

This posted with permission from the City of Meridian - Click Here for the Original Post