Money Magazine ranks 100 best places to live

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - “Money Magazine” has released its newest edition of the 100 Best Places to Live , and two Johnson County communities made the Top 20.

The Magazine polled users on their website about what was important when choosing a place to live, and they overwhelmingly picked safe streets, good schools, ample job opportunities and affordable real estate, so that is the criteria they used, Money assistant managing editor Elizabeth Fenner told Matt Lauer on Monday’s “Today Show” on NBC.

Coming in at No. 7 on their list was Overland Park, while Shawnee took No. 17.

Both were noted for their accessibility to jobs, with Overland Park taking praise for its schools and Shawnee for its farmland heritage.

Johnson County was not the only metro county to place communities on the list. Two cities in Jackson County also made the list.

Lee’s Summit ranked at No. 27 while Blue Springs landed at No. 49. Both received high marks for thier schools and housing markets.

Overland Park and Lee’s Summit both got docked for their job market, with massive cuts to Spring affecting OP and a higher-than-average unemployment rate in Lee’s Summit.

“It’s tough to be great in everything,” Fenner said. “We did the analysis to see across the board who’s the best.”

Also making the list in Missouri were O'Fallon at No. 26 and St. Peters at No. 60. No other Kansas communities appeard on the list.