"Every year, MONEY ranks the Best Places to Live in the U.S. Because of the criteria considered, some states end up being represented more than once — and others not at all," wrote Money real estate writer Shaina Mishkin. "Now, using data from that ranking, we crunched the numbers to find the best place to live in every state."
MORE: West Chester rises in rankings of ‘Best Places to Live’
As in Money’s previous rankings, the magazine considered everything from the cost of buying a home to median household income. The results showed “favorite stand-bys, well-known cities, and plenty of hidden gems,” according to the magazine, which lauds West Chester Twp. as “a quintessential family community” and an affordable one.
“With a median household income of just over $87,000, buying a home in town is well within reach for the township’s residents,” Money wrote. “You’ll probably need a car to get around, but that’s affordable, too: West Chester Township’s average annual auto insurance premium—$919—is the lowest on our list.”
Money suggested the cash saved could be used on the many activities around West Chester that children would love. The two examples it provided were nearby Kings Island amusement park in Mason and Sky Zone Trampoline Park in Springdale.
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Fun for adults is covered, too, Money said. The township is within 30 miles of more than 130 golf courses and more than 100 museums.
The Butler County community was first named to the Money Magazine Best Places to Live in America list in 2005 and has been included in the top 100 on the six most recent lists – 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“Money Magazine highlights the demographics that make West Chester such a wonderful place to live, but those who live here know the story runs even deeper,” said township Administrator Larry Burks. “More than 60,000 residents and 3,500 businesses give West Chester a unique point of view as a vibrant community with great heart.”
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West Chester was the only Ohio community to make the national list in 2018, when it earned the 38th spot in the annual rankings.
The magazine, a publication of Time Inc., narrows the field of eligible communities based on independent data collection and then gathers more subjective information from a visit to the community and interviews with residents.
The new rankings took into consideration that this year’s Best Places to Live list only considered locations with 50,000 people or more, with the top picks tending to skew toward small cities or bustling suburbs. For the five states that had no places to meet that criteria, Money considered last year’s Best Places to Live data, which included spots with populations between 10,000 and 100,000.
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WEST CHESTER TWP.: BY THE NUMBERS
Population: 65,197
Median Household Income: $87,002
Median Home Listing Price: $299,000
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