Research firm ranks Sidney as one of top spots in state

Sidney is among the top ten places to live in Nebraska, according to a blog by Movoto, a real estate research website.

Movoto conducted a study of the 31 biggest cities in Nebraska to determine which were the best places to reside. The rankings were based on amenities, quality of life, crime, tax rates, unemployment, commute time and weather. It ranked Sidney number eight on the list.

The criteria that factor into quality of life include cost of living, median home price, median rent, median household income and student to teacher ratio. Criteria for tax rate rankings include sales tax and income tax rates.

Weather, for which Sidney ranked near the bottom of the list, included temperature and air quality.

“Each location was then given a rank from 1 to 31 based on the individual criteria, with the lowest score being the best,” the article stated.

Sidney received a crime index rating of two, an unemployment ranking of four, seven for tax rates, 11 for quality of life, 21 for amenities and 30 for weather.

The scores for each category were then all averaged with the lowest score equaling the best city.

Sidney’s ranking averaged 11.57 while the top city, Seward, scored 10.57. South Sioux City made the bottom of the list with a score of 21.14.

Sidney’s city manager Gary Person pointed out in a statement that although Sidney was the least populated city in the top eight on the list, it was the city’s low score for weather that kept it from ranking number one.

“Sidney ranked 30 out of 31 cities in weather factors used in the ranking,” Person said. “Only Alliance ranked worse on the weather scale. Had Sidney ranked 23rd or higher in the weather category, the overall rating would have bounced Sidney to the top of the list.”

Sidney was the only city west of Kearney to make the top 18. North Platte was 19th, Alliance ranked 22nd, Scottsbluff and Gering tied for 26th place and Chadron scored 28th.

“Weather is something you obviously cannot control, but we have to be pleased with the rankings in most of the other categories, though we still have a lot of work to do as far as amenities offered in the community,” Person said. “I’m not sure what years they used in developing the factors, but weather factors can certainly vary from year to year, though I suspect it has to do with warmer weather cycles, less wind and severity of weather swings.”

The Movoto article stated that when analyzing the data, it found some amazing spots in Nebraska.

The article lists safety as one of Sidney’s top benefits, with a low crime index as well as short commute time and low unemployment.

Although Sidney’s weather isn’t perfect, the article stated, things like quality of life bumped the city’s ranking up the list.

Beatrice, Lexington and South Sioux City made the bottom of the list. South Sioux City scored the lowest for quality of life and unemployment. Beatrice and Lexington both scored low across the board.

Movoto is a national online real estate brokerage. Its blog has been recognized for its approach to city based research by Forbes, CBS News and The New York Times.

In December, Cheyenne County was ranked among the top 15 counties in Nebraska for job seekers in an article by NerdWallet, a national financial advice website.

The site placed the county 12th best in the state for those searching for employment.

Movoto’s top 10 spots in Nebraska:

**Including Ties**

1. Seward

2. Columbus

2. Papillion

4. Lincoln

4. Kearney

6. Norfolk

6. Nebraska City

8. Sidney

9. La Vista

9. Wayne