NEW ULM — People who live here already know that New Ulm is a pretty nice place to live. Now, thanks to a rating published in USA Today, they know just how nice it is.

USA Today has given New Ulm tenth place on its list of America’s 50 best cities to live. The list is based on a 24/7 Wall Street weighted index of over two-dozen measures that identify the best American cities to live. While the index can’t consider personal preferences like climate, proximity to friends and family or job opportunities, it tries to consider objective, measurable factors like low crime rates, affordability, median income, poverty levels, unemployment rates, transportation options and easy access to entertainment and cultural attractions.

The cities on the list are disproportionately located in the Midwest. The cities on the list are relatively small, usually under 25,000 in population, but many are located within a major metropolitan area, and are in easy commuting distance of a large city.

Communities, including boroughs, census designated places, cities, towns and villages, of at least 8,000 population were surveyed.

Several Minnesota cities were on the list, including Albert Lea (No. 44), Hutchinson (No. 42), Thief River Falls (No. 31), Elk River (No. 30), and Sartell (No. 13).

Other cities in the top ten were:

1. West University Place, Texas

2. Mandan, N.D.

3. Perryton, Texas

4. Dumas, Texas

5. Winnetka, Ill.

6. Ladue, Mo.

7. Le Mars, Iowa

8. New Albany, Ohio

9. Chatham, Ill.

Here’s what the article had to say about New Ulm:

• Population: 13,279

• 5-year population change: -1.6 percent (bottom 20 percent)

• Median home value: $133,100

• Median household income: $52,244

Residents of New Ulm, Minnesota, are more likely to work and earn high incomes, on average, than those in most other Americans. The town’s poverty rate of 8.5 percent is well below the national poverty rate of 15.1 percent. Also, the town’s five-year average unemployment rate of 2.6 percent is 4.8 percentage points below the comparable nationwide rate.

These numbers are better than the comparable national figures despite the fact that New Ulm residents tend to not be especially affluent. The town’s median household income of $52,244 a year is several thousand dollars lower than the U.S. median household income. Unlike almost all other places on this list, New Ulm’s population shrank over the past five years. During a time when the U.S. population grew 3.9 percent, New Ulm’s population dropped 1.6 percent.