Chart of the day: Best places to live

Despite a recent list that ranked Illinois as the 37th best state to live in (Utah is No. 1), another new list gives a shoutout to some great mid-sized towns in our state — all college towns.

Context: The Livability website calculated the scores using a bevy of federal data on a city's economy, housing, cost of living, amenities, transportation, environment, safety, education and health.

Yes but: The list only considers small- to mid-size cities with populations between 75,000 and 500,000 and average home prices under $500,000.

• So Chicago wasn't in the running.