An Award-Winning Community

Recognized nationally and internationally as one of the top communities in which to live, raise a family, and retire, Naperville has made headlines over the last few decades for its outstanding quality of life. Our picturesque, unique city combines the values and charm of small-town life with the vibrancy and boldness of a modern, thriving economic powerhouse in the Chicago area.

See why Naperville is where everyone can live, work and explore.

Live

In Naperville, community counts. Naperville is where families can set down their roots for generations, from newborns to those living in their golden years.

Most recently, Niche.com ranked Naperville the 2024 Best City to Live in America and the third Best City to Buy a House in America. For the past four years, Niche has also named Naperville the Best City to Raise a Family in America and the City with the Best Public Schools in America. In May, Livability ranked Naperville the fifth-best place to live in the U.S. 

Other organizations have bestowed similar honors on the city since the start of the decade, including Naperville ranking No. 16 on Money's Best Places to Live listing in 2022 and fourth on Livability's 2022 list of the Top 100 Best Places to Live in the US.

Other notable accolades include:

• No. 1 City to Live in Illinois - 24/7 Wall Street's List of Best Cities to Live in Every State, 2018
• No. 3 Most Successful City in the U.S. based on high median income and low poverty - Zippia.com, 2016 
• No. 4 on Livability's 2022 Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S.
• No. 3 on Livability's 2018 Best Places to Visit list

Public safety is one of the city's top priorities, and this effort has been regularly recognized nationally and internationally. In 2022 and 2023, MoneyGeek named Naperville the safest city in America. In 2020, Naperville was ranked No. 1 on SafeWise's America’s Safest Cities to Raise a Child report, which ranks safety by low property crimes, violent crimes, and the number of sex offenders.

Our internationally accredited Police and Fire Departments provide this unparalleled level of public safety. The Police Department was reaccredited for the 10th time in 2024 by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). Our law enforcement’s dedication to addressing traffic safety concerns was also recognized when our Traffic Safety Initiatives were ranked No.1 worldwide by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

One of only two agencies worldwide to achieve accreditation six consecutive times from the Center for Public Safety Excellence, the Fire Department was most recently reaccredited for a sixth time in 2022. As a recognized National Weather Service – Storm Ready Community, Naperville is also prepared for severe weather when seconds count and safety matters.

Naperville also values stewardship over the natural resources that drew town founder Joseph Naper to this area almost 200 years ago. In December 2021, the City – along with Trillium, a private compressed natural gas (CNG) provider, and Groot Industries, the City’s refuse contractor – received the Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation: Public-Private Partnership Award from the Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation for Naperville’s first public CNG fueling station, which opened in late 2020 to help reduce emissions from fleet vehicles.

The City also achieved SolSmart Silver status in May 2019 by meeting national solar permitting, inspection, planning, and zoning standards. 

Work

Economic development and a thriving business community are cornerstones of Naperville. Home to top-ranked businesses and organizations, in 2021 Naperville was awarded the Better Business Town designation from the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois. In previous years, Naperville earned the Well Workplace Award from Well City USA and has been named in the “Top Earning Towns” listing by Money Magazine two times.

Continuous efforts for community openness, accountability, and honesty are critical.  In June 2016, Naperville was selected as the first city in Illinois to participate in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Work Cities initiative – one of the largest-ever philanthropic efforts to enhance the use of data and evidence in the public sector. 

In 2013, the City of Naperville and the Naperville Park District were awarded the Illinois Policy Institute Award for Transparency. In addition, the City of Naperville has maintained a financial rating of “Aaa” issued by Moody’s Investors Service and an AAA rating from Standard & Poor's for 25 years, while the Naperville Park District has maintained a financial rating of “Aaa” issued by Moody’s Investors Service for 16 years. These ratings reflect both organizations' strong financial standings.

Many community organizations are recognized for being “best in their field.”  Naperville’s acclaimed Park District is one of only 1% of park districts nationwide to be nationally accredited through the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA). In 2022, the Illinois Association of Museums Award for Superior Achievement was presented to DuPage Children’s Museum for its exhibit, "The Questioneers: Read. Question. Think. PLAY!"

Explore

City officials, businesses, and residents are dedicated to preserving Naperville’s vibrant history while planning for a bright and responsible future that includes visitors enjoying all that Naperville has to offer. The success Naperville enjoys in the 2020s is due to outstanding efforts made over the last decade.

In 2011, the American Planning Association, Illinois Chapter, recognized Naperville’s innovative and state-of-the-art planning methods and practices for creating a community of lasting value when it awarded Naperville’s Historic Preservation Initiative the Best Practice Award.

Our community’s pride in education and community involvement through the use of flowers, plants, trees, and other environmental enhancements has not gone unnoticed. Naperville is the proud recipient of the America in Bloom Award for Tidiness and has been an Arbor Day Foundation Tree City USA Certified Community for three decades.

According to Zero Population Growth, Naperville has been named among the nation's top five "kid-friendliest" cities since 1997. In 2014, the DuPage Children’s Museum was rated the Reader’s Choice Best Museum by Suburban Life. In 2024, the museum received a prestigious Innovation Award from the Illinois Association of Museums for its sensory-friendly Wonder Room.

No stranger to accolades, the Naperville Public Library has been named the No. 1 Public Library in the U.S. in the 100,000 – 250,000 population category for the last 10 years. It is a beacon of pride to the entire community.

We invite everyone to explore all that Naperville has to offer. We hope you love it just as much as we do!