Main Street - Power & Light District

All rankings are for Kansas City, MO unless otherwise noted.


2014

2013

  • America's #1 Affordable Getaway (third year in a row) -- Travel + Leisure 
  • Best Cities to Raise a Family (#6) -- Movoto Real Estate
  • Top 10 Cities for Young Job Seekers -- Business Insider
  • Top 10 Cities Winning the Battle for Fastest Growing High-Wage Sector -- New Geography
  • America's Most Literate Cities -- USA Today
  • America's Best Barbecue -- National Geographic
  • Third Most Charitable Community -- Charity Navigator
  • Best States to Retire in (Kansas and Missouri) -- Bankrate
  • Top 10 Scariest Haunted Attractions in the U.S. (West Bottoms -- Chambers of Poe, Macabre Cinema, Edge of Hell and The Beast) -- Travel Channel 
  • World Champion Barista (from Parisi Coffee, Pete Licata)  
  • America’s Next Great Cocktail City – Chicago Tribune
  • Best Beer Cities 2013 – Travel + Leisure
  • Best New Bars in the US (The Kill Devil Club) -- Food + Wine
  • Most Affordable Getaway (second year in a row) – Travel + Leisure 
  • Best BBQ Cities 2013 – Food & Wine
  • Best Cities for Ice Cream -- Travel + Leisure
  • Best Cities for Christmas Travel -- Travel + Leisure
  • Best Hospitals in the U.S. (University of Kansas Hospital) -- U.S. News and World Report
  • Best Chef of the Midwest (Carl Thorne-Thomsen, Story) – Food & Wine 
  • James Beard Award winning Chef (KC’s 4th) – Colby Garrelts, Bluestem
  • Best Bars in America 2013 (Harry’s Country Club, Manifesto) – Esquire 
  • Top 10 Romantic City – Livability.com
  • Top Place to See in 2013 -- Refinery29

2012

  • Top Culinary Destination in 2012 – Saveur
  • Top Budget Travel Destinations for 2012 – Budget Travel
  • Top Destinations in 2012 (only American city) – Frommer’s 
  • Top Affordable Vacation Hotspots for 2012 – FoxBusiness.com
  • America’s Best Tailgating Cities – Food & Wine
  • Best BBQ Cities – Food & Wine
  • America’s Eco-Friendliest Cities (#8) – Celsias
  • America’s Best CEOs (#4, Neal Patterson of Cerner) – Forbes 
  • Top Cities for Newlyweds (#4) – Huffington Post
  • Best Places for New College Grads (#7) – Huffington Post
  • The World’s Top New Buildings (Bloch Building at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) – Travel + Leisure 
  • #10 America’s Techiest Cities – Travel + Leisure
  • 5 Vegan-Friendly Towns on our Radar – VegNews.com
  • America’s Best Burger Cities (#8) – USA Today
  • Best Ice Cream Spots in the U.S. (Glace Ice Cream) – Food & Wine 
  • 75 Best College Towns and Cities for 2012-2013 (Lawrence, KS) – American Institute for Economic Research 
  • 9 Cities You Wouldn’t Think Are Hubs for Tech Start-Ups – Entrepreneur
  • America’s 50 Best Cities – Bloomberg Businessweek
  • Busiest Arenas in America (#4, Sprint Center) – Pollstar 
  • Top 10 Pro-Business States (Kansas and Missouri) – Pollina Corporate 
  • Best Places to Live (#9, Overland Park) – Money Magazine 
  • Most Beautiful Museums in the World (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) – Flavorwire.com 
  • Best Places for Business and Careers – Forbes
  • Best Retirement Cities for Foodies (#4) – Huffington Post
  • The World’s Best Stadium (Livestrong Sporting Park) – The Stadium Business Awards 
  • America’s Strongest Metros (#8) – Policom Corporation
  • Best Cities for Jobs – New Geography
  • 10 Best Cities to Buy a Home – Forbes
  • Best Cities for Manufacturing Jobs – Forbes

2011

  • America’s Best Downtowns – Forbes
  • #1 Most Affordable Getaway (America’s Favorite Cities survey) – Travel + Leisure 
  • #1 Barbecue City (America’s Favorite Cities survey) – Travel + Leisure 
  • #6 Most Sports-Crazed Cities (America’s Favorite Cities survey) – Travel + Leisure 
  • #6 Friendly People (America’s Favorite Cities survey) – Travel + Leisure 
  • Top 10 Cities for Young Entrepreneurs (#2) – under30ceo.com
  • World’s Most Beautiful Buildings (Bloch Building) – Travel + Leisure
  • The U.S.’s Biggest Brain Magnets – Forbes
  • Top 10 Cities for College Grads (#4) – Livability.com
  • Top 10 Cities for Jobs Now (#10) – Monster
  • Best Cities for Foodies (#17) – Travel + Leisure
  • Four Entrepreneurial Cities to Keep Your Eye On – Entrepreneurs Unplugged
  • Metros with the Most Green Jobs (#17) – Brookings Institute
  • America’s Top 5 Baseball Museums (Negro Leagues Baseball Museum) – Yahoo! Sports
  • Seven Emerging Innovative Centers – Wall Street Journal
  • America’s Best Cities for Fall Travel (#11) – Travel + Leisure
  • Top Destination Award – Facilities & Destinations

2010

  • Best Places for Working Mothers – Forbes
  • 10 Great Cities for Young Adults – Kiplinger
  • Top 60 Tech-Heavy Cities (#24) – TechAmerica Foundation
  • America’s Most Underrated Cities – Yahoo! Travel
  • America’s Greenest Cities (#17) – American City Business Journals
  • 20 Cities Surviving the Recession – Yahoo! Finance
  • Cities Where the Recession is Easing (#10) – Forbes
  • Best Cities for Moms (#8, Overland Park) – The Daily Beast
  • Best Cities for College Grads (Lawrence) – The Daily Beast
  • America’s 10 Best Farmers Markets (City Market) – Livability.com

2009

  • 40 Strongest U.S. Metro Economies – BusinessWeek
  • America’s Smartest Cities (#17) – The Daily Beast
  • America’s 10 Best Places to Grow Up (Overland Park) – U.S. News & World Report
  • Top 10 Best Cities to Get Ahead (#9) – Forbes
  • Best Cities for Singles – Forbes
  • The Best Stores for Men in America (Standard Style Boutique) – GQ
  • Best Places to Retire (KCMO and KCK) – U.S. News & World Report
  • 100 Best Bars (JP Wine Bar and The Oak Room) – Food & Wine
  • Best Mid-Sized Cities for Jobs (#5, Kansas City, KS) – Forbes
  • Best Places for Businesses and Careers – Forbes
  • Top 50 Brewers in America (#16, Boulevard Brewing Co.) – American Brewers Association
  • Most Underrated Gay-Friendly Cities in America (#5) – About.com
  • Best Places to Raise Your Kids (Lee’s Summit & Overland Park) – Business Week
  • Five Destinations to Watch – SmarterTravel.com

2008

  • America’s Best Secret Neighborhoods (Downtown) – Travel + Leisure
  • Most Sustainable Cities (#20) – American City and Country
  • Fittest Cities in the U.S. (#15) – Men’s Fitness
  • America’s Best Places to Live (#9, Overland Park; #11, Olathe; #39, Shawnee; #79, Lee’s Summit) – Money Magazine
  • America’s 10 Comeback Capitals – Forbes
  • Best Cities for Young Professionals (#26) – Forbes
  • 12 International Cities to Watch for Innovation – Fast Company
  • America’s Most Family-Friendly Cities – Forbes
  • World’s Top 100 Arena Venues (#30, Sprint Center) – Pollstar magazine
  • Nation’s Top Five Interactive Museums (College Basketball Experience) – Wired
  • America’s Best Cities for Outdoors (#16) – Forbes
  • America’s Tech-Savviest Towns (#14) – Men’s Health
  • 10 Best Cities for Commuters (#8) – Forbes
  • Best Cities for Couples (#6) – Forbes
  • America’s Most Wired Cities (#22) – Forbes
  • All-American Cities (Gladstone, MO) – The National Civic League
  • America’s Smartest Cities (#7, Lawrence) – Forbes
  • Underrated Cities in the United States (#4) – Yahoo!

2007

  • 10 Coolest Small Towns (Parkville) – Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel
  • America’s Most Pet-Friendly Cities (#7) – Forbes
  • America’s Top Cities for Volunteering (#7) – Forbes
  • Architectural Marvels of 2007 (#1, Bloch Building at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) – Time
  • 10 Best Places to Retire (Lawrence, KS) – U.S. News and World Report
  • 50 Best Places to Live (Parkville, MO) – Men’s Journal
  • Top 10 List of Underrated U.S. Cities (#4) – MSNBC
  • Best Value-Priced Vacation Destinations (#5) – Hotwire.com
  • Most Underrated Cities in the U.S. with Unexpected Appeal (#1) – Los Angeles Times

2006

  • The Best NFL Stadiums (#3, Arrowhead Stadium) – Fox Sports
  • NFL Fan Loyalty (#2, Kansas City Chiefs) – American City Business Journal
  • Best Cities for Singles (#30) – Forbes
  • Top 100 Best Places to Live (Overland Park, Olathe and Lee’s Summit) – CNN Money magazine
  • 50 Smart Places to Live (#6) – Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

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