How do you choose the best small cities in the country?

It's not easy, but year after year the scientific eggheads at WalletHub round up a gigantic mountain of statistics and distill it down into an easily understandable set of numbers.

They rank the cities by percentile, so 99th would be great and 1 percentile not so much.

Okay, that is how. But why do they do it?

Because not everyone is drawn to the frantic pace of a larger city and would appreciate some guidance on moving to a less chaotic existence.

What makes a small town so livable?

WalletHub considered 5 major livable categories:

Affordability - household income, cost of living, home prices, etc.
Economic Health - income & population growth, unemployment, etc.
Education and Health - graduation rates, access to healthy foods, etc.
Quality of Life - commute times, entertainment, park systems, shopping, etc.
Safety - Crime rates and motor vehicle deaths.

So which South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota small cities made the cut?

The South Dakota small cities that made the national list are:

Rapid City - 35th percentile
Aberdeen - 46th percentile

The Minnesota & Iowa cities that made the cut are too numerous to list completely but include:

St. Cloud, MN - 34th percentile
Roseville, MN - 38th percentile
Bloomington, MN - 64th percentile
Sioux City, IA - 46th percentile
Ames, IA - 70th percentile
Ankeny, IA - 96th percentile

So what is the takeaway from this report?

There are millions of small towns and cities that have plenty to make living in them not only attractive, but downright desirable!

You can see the full report at WalletHub.

Source: WalletHub

11 Famous People from South Dakota

OK, so we're not Hollywood, but there are a number of famous people who were born in the Rushmore State. Here's a list of 10 famous people who were born in South Dakota!