<p>Recognition for Minneapolis:</p>
<p>[In</a> Pictures: Most Affordable Places To Live Well - Forbes.com](<a href=“In Pictures: Most Affordable Places To Live Well”>In Pictures: Most Affordable Places To Live Well)</p>
<p>What pushed Minneapolis to the top? Last quarter, 61% of the area’s home sold were available to the median household earner, according to NAHB/Wells Fargo, which puts the City of Lakes in 17th place of the 50 cities we measured. Minneapolis ranked just under the median in cost of living. Its quality of life ranking most distinguishes it; here the city ranked third, and came in ninth in arts and leisure offerings. </p>
<p>Indeed, Minneapolis has top-notch cultural institutions, whether they be theaters, music halls or museums. The Guthrie Theater, for example, is considered one of the premier facilities in the country. The Twin Cities receive funding from local corporate foundations including those of Target (nyse: TGT - news - people ), 3M (nyse: MMM - news - people ), Best Buy (nyse: BBY - news - people ), General Mills (nyse: GIS - news - people ), Cargill and United Health, and from charitable institutions like the Minneapolis Foundation, which manages just under $700 million in assets.</p>
<p>So why haven’t you heard more about Minneapolis?</p>
<p>“Maybe it’s our ‘Lake Wobegon’ nature, where we’re not looking to crow about ourselves,” says Robert Hybben, a donor services associate at the Minneapolis Foundation. “There’s a very active non-profit community here, a vigorous civil society and a lot of people who are very active. It’s just been our tradition here.”</p>