Fortune magazine ranks Iowa City among best for ‘sandwich generation’

IOWA CITY — A business magazine has ranked Iowa City among the 25 best cities in the country for people in their late thirties, forties and fifties to live and raise their families.

Fortune magazine analyzed data from 2000 American cities, focusing on things like education, financial health, general wellness of residents and resources for the elderly. The project focuses on the so-called “sandwich generation” — people who have aging parents and are raising kids or financially supporting their adult children.

Iowa City ranked 18th in the country, cited for its public schools, senior care facilities, the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and having the University of Iowa at its center. Fortune also mentioned the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the city’s designation as a City of Literature by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The other cities in neighboring states to make the top 25 are Olathe, Kansas at #3; West Chicago at #9; Woodbury, Minnesota at #14 and Maryland Heights, Missouri at #19.