Woodbury, MN (WNN) – Woodbury was named a top 30 Midwestern city “to move to in the Midwest in 2025,” according to Consumer Affairs. The rankings took safety, affordability, economy, education and quality of life into account.
Woodbury was 7th ranked in the education category. The city also ranked 19th for safety. Woodbury ranked lower than 30 for affordability, economy, and quality of life.
The top five cities named were Carmel (IN), Naperville (IL), Arlington Heights (IL), Appleton (WI) and Waukesha (WI).
Top Minnesota cities were Plymouth (7), Lakeville (26), Woodbury (30), Rochester (37) and Maple Grove (46).
The rankings used the census definition for the Midwest and included Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Here’s how Consumer Affairs described their ranking methodology:
- Safety (30 points): This score is based on rates of violent crime (15 points) and property crime (15) per 1,000 residents. Data is from NeighborhoodScout.
- Affordability (30 points): This category includes median housing costs as a share of median income (15) and median rent for November 2024 (15).
- Economy (20 points): The economy score considers each city’s unemployment rate (5 points), percentage of residents below the poverty level (8) and home appreciation from 2023 to 2024 (7). Data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau and Zillow.
- Education (10 points): This category evaluates the highest level of educational attainment for the city’s population, including the percentage with a high school diploma or equivalent (2 points), a bachelor’s degree (4), or a graduate or professional degree (4). Data is from the U.S. Census Bureau.
- Quality of life (10 points): The quality of life score considers walkability (3 points), the percentage of the city population living within a 10-minute walk of green space (4) and average annual temperature (3). Data is from NYU Langone Health and Weather Spark.
