Batavia, Buffalo Grove make list of top communities

Two suburban communities are featured in a national ranking released Monday of the "best places to live."

Batavia ranked No. 56 and Buffalo Grove No. 65 in a top 100 listing of America's best small towns published by Money Magazine. Glen Carbon, near St. Louis, was No. 91.

Magazine editors noted Batavia's "old-town feel," and easy access to commuter trains headed to Chicago's downtown 35 miles away. Another plus is the town's "world-renowned" Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory - one of some 200 manufacturing, research, and warehousing businesses located there, according to the magazine.

"We are proud that Batavia is one of only three communities in Illinois to receive this recognition," Mayor Jeffery Schielke said in a statement. "Our residents, our schools, our parks, our businesses all contribute to making Batavia a great community to live, work and play."

Editors described Buffalo Grove as a "quiet, tree-lined community" that is "shredding its agricultural roots to focus on local business growth." Shopping centers have replaced dairy farms, and the population has grown to more than 43,000, when it started with only 164 in 1958, the magazine said.

Village President Elliott Hartstein said he remembers when people thought of Buffalo Grove as "where the earth ends," but it's evolved to become a town with great services and a nice place to raise a family. "We're very very proud of what our community has. We can take great pride in the community," he said.

Money Magazine analyzed more than 1,800 U.S. cities that have satisfactory education and crime scores, income below 200 percent of the state median and aren't more than 95 percent white.

Among the magazine's other rankings:

• In a listing of the top 25 towns of affluent singles, Oak Park ranked No. 7 and Lisle No. 17.

• Kendall County ranked No. 3 on a list of the top 25 best places to find a job. Will County was No. 20.