Overland Park is once again one of the best cities to live in the U.S. according to data analytics website Niche.
Niche ranks cities — which it classifies as urbanized area with 100,000 or more people — nationwide in several categories, such as “Best Cities to Live” and “Best Cities to Buy a House.”
Overland Park cracked Niche’s top 10 in the following “Best of Cities” rankings for 2021:
- Fourth overall in “Best Cities to Live in America”
- First in “Best Cities to Buy a House in America”
- Fourth in “Best Cities to Raise a Family in America”
- Seventh in “Cities with the Best Public Schools in America”
Niche’s methodology, which can be read in full here, looks at the quality of a place or city by factoring in a number of data points, including crime rates, employment statistics, school rankings and more.
Overland Park is the only Johnson County city that Niche considers a “city” (don’t @ us, it’s their methodology), but several smaller Johnson County cities earned spots on Niche’s wide-ranging “Best Places to Live” lists released earlier this year.
As for Overland Park, the latest distinction is bragging rights.
This is a big one: Overland Park is again one of the best places to live in the United States! 🏡 🌳 🚘
Your city made @NicheSocial's 2021 list, thanks to housing, education and more: https://t.co/6K4ZCc6OMY.
— City of Overland Park, Kansas (@opcares) May 21, 2021
In a statement emailed to the Shawnee Mission, Mayor Carl Gerlach said:
“This year alone, Overland Park has already been named a best place to live, a happiest place to live, a safest city, and a best city in which to drive, buy a home, raise a family and start a career. This is thanks to years of forward-thinking leadership and vision from the community. I’m proud to call Overland Park home, and appreciate the recognition of the quality of life many in our city have known about for years.”
It’s not a new distinction for Overland Park. Niche ranked the city 7th on its “Best Cities to Live in America” list in 2019.
