YouTuber Says Rochester, MN is the Most ‘Overlooked’ Place in the US

There are plenty of great places to live all across the US. In fact, lists are starting to come out about the top places to live in the country for 2025.

Which towns do you think are on the list? I'll be honest, I didn't expect any of the top 5 from US News and World Report.

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2025 Best Places to Live in the US

5. Charlotte, NC

4. Greenville, SC

3. Colorado Springs, CO

2. Boise, ID

1. Naples, FL

Numbers two and three make sense to me, I always hear great things about both cities. The others surprised me! And I don't know that I've ever heard of Naples, Florida...

Rochester, MN didn't make the list. Actually, Minnesota got totally jipped on the list with only Minneapolis making it at number 94 and Wisconsin had a ton but whatever.

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Someone who wouldn't be surprised by Rochester not making the list is a guy named Briggs. He has a YouTube channel called World According to Briggs with 1.24 million subscribers.

He does videos about places around the world. For example, some of his most recent videos are about the states that hate outsiders the most, the top towns for a dream retirement, and the best cities to buy your first house.

Another recent video is titled "10 Best Overlooked Places to Live in the US in 2025".

I saw this video pop up on the Rochester, MN Reddit page and decided I'd better check it out. Sure enough, Rochester was featured!

Rochester, MN Named the Most Overlooked Place in the US

Briggs did some of his own research and determined the top 10 places across the US that are commonly overlooked but are actually great places to live. Those top 10 are...

10. Overland Park, KS

9. Ann Arbor, MI

8. Sioux Falls, SD

7. Bentonville, AR

6. Plano, TX

5. Lincoln, NE

4. Southeast Virginia

3. Cedar Rapids, IA

2. Provo, UT

And taking the top spot is Rochester, MN!

Why Rochester, MN Is an Overlooked Place to Live

How did Rochester get this spot of the most overlooked but great place to live?

Briggs says that he put Rochester at number one because it's "consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in the US", the super low unemployment rate, housing that's affordable, and good schools.

He also mentions all of the trails and parks we have in town and nearby, the Rochester Art Center, plenty of places to check out live music, our abundance of coffee shops, and, of course, Mayo Clinic.

I feel like as a resident of Rochester I need to say that I don't agree that the housing is affordable. There are SOME options but definitely not enough. Also, in my opinion, the schools could use some work, so I don't entirely agree with Briggs on that one either.

Regardless, it's cool to see Rochester have a positive light shined on it. I say this a decent amount, so many people talk smack about Rochester that I don't understand. As someone who didn't grow up here and moved here as an adult, I think this is a really cool town that doesn't always get the love it deserves.