MADISON – Madison often earns a slot on lists that rank ‘The Top Ten …’ or ‘Outstanding 25 Cities to …’ However, Madison recently was rated as ‘THE’ best city to live in the state of Alabama.

Niche, a web-based analysis of statistics and reviews, ranked Madison as first for Alabama in its “2017 Best Place to Live” listing. To determine the rankings, teams of employees at Niche compiled voluminous data, including census findings, education scorecards and crime reports.

Niche scored each Alabama city in 12 categories. Madison scored the following ratings: public schools, A+; housing, A+; good for families, A+; jobs, A; cost of living, A-; outdoor activities, B+; crime & safety, B-; nightlife, B-; diversity, A-; weather, B+; health & fitness, B+; and commute, A-.

Madison received the following summary from Niche for its quality of life: “This town is booming. It is growing so fast, we don’t know what to do with it! Our community is much more diverse than most in Alabama because of a nearby army base and loads of engineering opportunities.”

Rounding out the top five cities to live in Alabama were Vestavia Hills in second place, Homewood, Mountain Brook and Hoover in fifth place. Huntsville was rated in eleventh place.

With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pa., Niche produces comprehensive rankings, report cards and profiles for every school with grades K-12, college and neighborhood in the United States. The company constantly updates and connects millions of data points to produce new rankings and insights.

In a previous survey, Niche rated the Madison City Schools district in third place among 135 school districts in Alabama. MCS scored an overall A+.

All seven elementary schools in Madison placed in the top 25 in individual school rankings. All four Madison secondary schools placed in the top 10 in Alabama: Bob Jones High School, fifth; James Clemens High School, eighth; Liberty Middle School, ninth; and Discovery Middle School, 10th.

These accolades for Madison schools appeared in Niche’s “2017 Best Schools in America.” list.

For more information, visit niche.com.