Lisa Shearer
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND —
CNBC listed Edmond as No. 1 on its list of 10 Perfect Suburbs, released Thursday.
The profile of Oklahoma’s sixth-largest city featured a photo of Broncho Lake on the University of Central Oklahoma campus in the heart of Edmond. It listed the metro unemployment rate of 4.9 percent, the median house value of $201,770 and the fact that Edmond Public Schools is ranked higher than 59 percent of all other U.S. public schools as some of the reasons why Edmond is making suburbia look good.
CNBC.com states that it derived its top 10 list by using an analysis of the databases of Location Inc., a data and analysis company. They were looking for suburbs “with the best mix of affordable housing, good schools, educated neighbors, low crime, employment and reasonable commutes.”
The other nine suburbs making the list, in order, are: Kensington, Md., Circle Pines, Minn., Reading, Mass., Poquoson,Va., Midlothian, Va., Wexford, Penn., Round Rock, Texas, Morgan, Utah, and Columbia, Md.
Edmond resident Cathy Scheihing said she was not surprised at her adopted hometown’s high ranking on a national list.
“Edmond is a special place,” Scheihing said Thursday afternoon. “It’s dynamic and it has such a sense of community involvement. … It’s friendly from the grocery store to driving down the street.”
Her son, John, is a senior at Edmond Memorial High School and two older children are Memorial graduates. The family moved to Edmond 11 years ago through a job transfer.
“The education offered is impressive,” Scheihing said.
She cited the Advanced Studies classes as one reason that makes the Edmond Public School system excellent, but also noted that atmosphere in the high schools makes a difference, too.
“There’s a real sense of unity and not of divisiveness,” she said.
While Scheihing appreciates the kudos from CNBC.com, she sort of wishes they would keep Edmond’s suburban success a little more quiet. “But I also love having the bragging rights,” she said.
The news flooded local social media pages with residents commenting about their pride in the community.
The CNBC.com slideshow is not the first time Edmond has received national recognition for its successful community attributes. Last year, Edmond was named one of the 10 Best Towns for Families by Family Circle magazine.
