Last week, CNN’s Money Magazine named Ames as one of the top 100 best places to live in America.

Ames came in at No. 53 on the list of small cities with populations larger that 50,000. It was the only Iowa city that made the top 100.

The mayor of Ames, Ann Campbell, said she believed the city’s amenities helped it make the list.

“One of the things I like to say about Ames is it’s a small city but it has a lot of big city amenities,” Campbell said. “It has some of the things that you would see when you go to New York.”

She said having Iowa State in town is a huge advantage and helps the city maintain attractions and services that other cities its size don’t have.

According to the article posted on Money Magazine online, the Campustown neighborhood and Reiman Gardens are positive features of the city, as well as the jobs provided by businesses 3M and Barilla.

The online list also compares some statistics about Ames to the average of all cities in the top 100.

For example, Ames has short commute times and good air quality, but is less racially diverse than other cities in the list.

“Even those who commute to Des Moines gave a short commute time compared to cities nationwide,” Campbell said.

One category in which Ames lagged behind other cities was job growth.

According to the list, from 2000 to 2007, job growth was 7.03 percent, compared to the 18.72 percent average job growth of the top 100. According to the ISU Regional Capacity Analysis Program, Ames’ population grew by 7.7 percent during the same time period.

Campbell said job growth is a concern for Ames’ city leaders, and the city’s commercial expansion has been “stymied” in recent years.

She said that the city is looking to grow existing businesses and has the Ames Development Cooperation to give incentives to new businesses.

The city is also looking to expanding the city limits to accommodate population growth.

Last week, the City Council discussed plans to annex land to the northwest and the southwest. A resolution to annex land to the north of current city limits failed after a tie vote by the council.

The top spot on the list went to Plymouth, Minn., due to “topnotch schools, good jobs, affordable housing, low crime and an active outdoor culture.”