Politics & Government

O'Fallon Makes List of America's 100 Best Places to Live Once Again

For the fourth consecutive time, the City of O'Fallon, Missouri, has been named one of the country's "Best Places to Live," according to "Money" magazine.

Information provided by the City of O'Fallon.   

For the fourth consecutive time, the City of O’Fallon, Missouri, has been named one of the country’s “Best Places to Live,” according to Money magazine’s list of America’s 100 best cities. O’Fallon ranked 39th on the 2012 list of cities with a population of 50,000-300,000,

ranking continues the stream of national accolades that have been bestowed on the City.

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In addition to Money’s previous rankings in 2006, 2008 and 2010, O’Fallon was named to Relocate-America.com’s listings of America’s Best Cities in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, and O’Fallon currently is ranked as the “Second-Safest City in America” by CQ Press.

 “We are truly humbled to again be on this prestigious list,” said Mayor Bill Hennessy. “O’Fallon is a wonderful community in which to live, work and play. This honor is a testament to our residents, our businesses, civic organizations, schools, churches, community volunteers and our elected officials and tremendous City staff.

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“Our leaders are called on to make O’Fallon the ‘best city in the State of Missouri.’ With this ranking, we have once again achieved that goal, and we have set a standard of excellence that we intend to maintain for future generations.”

O’Fallon is the highest-ranked city in the state of Missouri and one of only three Missouri cities to be ranked by Money. St. Charles ranked at number 71 and Florissant ranked at 76.

According to Money:

Job seekers with families would do well to consider O'Fallon, a super-safe St. Louis suburb that has one of the highest projected rates of increases in employment in the state, top schools, and affordable homes that average just $170,000 for a three-bedroom. While the city is crisscrossed by a mass of highways, the roads help O'Fallon residents get where they need to go, from fine restaurants 40 or so minutes away in St. Louis to the River City Rascals baseball stadium and acres of parks closer to home.

In assessing communities, Money magazine compared national statistics on a variety of topics, such as finances (income, taxes, insurance rates, etc.), housing prices, job growth, transportation, public safety, education, leisure and cultural activities, weather, health and demographics for 2012.

O’Fallon stood out in several ways:

  • O’Fallon’s job growth rate of 55.63% from 2000-2011 was higher than nine of the “Top 10” communities on the list.
  • O’Fallon families have a higher purchasing power than the average of the 100 “best places” listed by Money.

 

  • The average home price in O’Fallon is more than 30% lower than the average of the “best places” list.
  • O’Fallon’s air quality index of 79.3% is better than the Top 100 average
  • O’Fallon is served by three quality public school districts, and test scores for O’Fallon students in both math and reading are more than twice as high as the Top 100 average.
  • The City is within 30 miles of 17 colleges, universities and professional schools.
  • O’Fallon residents are 50% less likely to suffer a personal crime compared to the average for the “Top 100 Best Places.” O’Fallon’s rates of one personal crime per 1,000 residents and 16 property crimes per 1,000 residents were significantly lower than the average of the other 100 best cities.

 

In addition to high marks for its low crime rate, O’Fallon also stood out for the number of businesses who have either headquartered or made a significant investment in O’Fallon, the City’s extensive park system, and the overall sense of community that extends throughout the City.

“A great City is a partnership of business, government, educational, civic and residential investment,” said O’Fallon’s City Administrator, Keith Riesberg. “What makes this City so special is our continued commitment to study our City and say ‘How can we make it even better?’ Our City staff, elected officials and civic and business leaders understand that we’ve been entrusted with a jewel here in O’Fallon. We’re dedicated to keeping it that way.”

The health and safety of the City’s residents also played a significant role in the ranking.

“The health and safety of our residents and businesses remain our top priorities,” said O’Fallon Police Chief Roy Joachimstaler. “The O’Fallon Police Department, O’Fallon, Wentzville and Central County Fire Protection Districts and St. Charles County Ambulance District all employ outstanding teams with individuals who have won awards for their training and professional expertise. We’re also fortunate to have tremendous health care facilities with dedicated professionals committed to the health and welfare of our residents.”

Money Magazine used statistics from data provider OnBoard Informatics to determine this year’s rankings.


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