Four Minnesota cities in magazine's 'America's best places to live' list

Four Minnesota cities have earned bragging rights this year for landing spots among the best 100 small towns to live in the U.S., according to an annual national financial magazine's ranking.

Money Magazine has rated Chanhassen, Chaska, Lino Lakes and Owatonna as some of the best places to live in the country.

Chanhassen came in second just after Louisville, Colo. Chaska ranked 20th, Lino Lakes 36th and Owatonna 97th, according to the magazine. The survey ranked cities with populations of 8,500 to 50,000.

Last year's ranking, which rated cities with populations from 50,000 to 300,000, included nine cities from Minnesota, including Plymouth, which took the top spot.

Other cities in last year's ranking were Apple Valley, Blaine, Burnsville, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Lakeville and Maple Grove.

The magazine ranks the cities based on a variety of factors, including strong local economies, good schools, affordable homes and low crime.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Because of a reporter's error, an earlier version of this story did not note that changes between 2008 and 2009 rankings were because cities of different populations were sampled.