Eau Claire named 3rd most livable small city in U.S.

A recent study names Eau Claire as one of the most livable places in the United States. According to the 2020 study done by Smart Asset, Eau Claire is now ranked the third most livable small city in the country.

"The things that we know about Eau Claire, the beautiful parks, the amazing people, you know that community support, I mean there's no better place to live," said Interim Executive Director of Visit Eau Claire Benny Anderson.

The study touches on a few of Eau Claire's best assets. Anderson says there is no reason that the city shouldn't be in first place with all it has to offer.

"I think the things that they highlighted compounded with the things we know about Eau Claire and truly show what an amazing city it is," said Anderson. "They talked about shortest commutes and access to health care, which obviously we have a lot of access to in Eau Claire with all of the different representation from that."

Eau Claire also ranked with the second highest concentration of bars in the overall study.

"The number of bars and restaurants and the quality ones we have," said Anderson. "I mean we're standing here in Phoenix Park and you could throw a rock and hit great restaurants with little to no wait that you know have been here forever."

Even with the challenges our town has faced during COVID-19, Anderson says the strong sense of community is what continues to keep Eau Claire thriving.

"They've still managed to find amazing ways to work together and find kind of a middle ground to how to approach it to keep everybody safe."

Anderson says he knows Eau Claire will continue to outshine all of the other small cities in years to come.

"We had 11th best place to own a small business this year and third most livable small city," said Anderson. "I mean next year we're taking home a trophy."

To read the full study,