National Rankings and Honors

Oshkosh is consistently ranked among the top small cities in the nation in which to live. In fact, the Oshkosh community has earned a variety of accolades for its workforce, safety, economic strength and business and career climate.

Check out these honors:

2024: SmartAsset ranked Oshkosh #10 among Most Livable Small Cities in 2024, out of 281 small cities across the U.S.
2024: checkr ranks Oshkosh #2 among America’s best cities for Gen Z workers.
2023: POLICOM MSA Economic Strength Rankings – Oshkosh/Neenah was ranked 4th in Wisconsin and 114th out of 384 nationwide Metropolitan Statistical Areas for economic strength. Economic strength is the long term tendency for an area to consistently grow in both size and quality. The highest ranked areas have rapid consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period.
2022: SmartAsset ranked Oshkosh #2 in Most Livable Small Cities in the U.S.
2022: UWO ranked among top 10 on list of best value colleges and universities by College Consensus
2021: POLICOM MSA Economic Strength Rankings – Oshkosh/Neenah was ranked 4th in Wisconsin and 113th out of 384 nationwide Metropolitan Statistical Areas for economic strength. Economic strength is the long term tendency for an area to consistently grow in both size and quality. The highest ranked areas have had rapid consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period.
2021: Oshkosh ranked 14th nationwide in Best Small Cities for Retirement 2021 by SmartAsset.
2021: Oshkosh ranked 3rd in Most Livable College Towns 2021 by SmartAsset
2021: Oshkosh ranked 2nd in Most Livable Small Cities in the U.S. 2021 by SmartAsset
2021: Oshkosh ranked Best City to Retire in 2021, in Wisconsin by Insurify
2021: Oshkosh ranked 64th on the 2021 Best Performing Small Cities Index by The Milken Institute
2021: Oshkosh ranked 35th in Most Fitness-Friendly Places for 2021 by SmartAsset
2020: Oshkosh ranked 19th in Best Places to Work in Manufacturing – 2020 Edition by SmartAsset
2020: Oshkosh ranked 19th in The Best Places for Retirees to Live and Work by SmartAsset
2020: Oshkosh ranked 3rd in Top 10 cities for Working Parents by SmartAsset
2020: Oshkosh ranked 6th in Most Livable Small Cities in the U.S. by SmartAsset.
2019: Oshkosh ranked #2 in Best Places for Millennials to Move by Reviews.org.
2019: Oshkosh ranked 4th in Most Livable Small Cities in the U.S. by SmartAsset.
2019: Oshkosh, WI is ranked #5 on the list of “The top 10 cities for working parents” by SmartAsset.
2019: REVIEWS.org ranked Oshkosh #2 in its list of The Best Places for Millennials to Move to in 2019.
2019: POLICOM 2019 MSA Economic Strength Rankings – Oshkosh/Neenah was ranked 83 out of 383 Metro Areas for economic strength. Economic Strength is the long term tendency for an area to consistently grow in both size and quality. The highest ranked areas have had rapid consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period.
2018: Oshkosh ranked #5 in Best College Towns by Schools.com.
2018: UW Oshkosh ranked #38 in The Safest College Campuses in America by the National Council for Home Safety & Security.
2018: Oshkosh Ranked #12 for the Safest Cities in Wisconsin by SafeHome.org.
2018: Oshkosh recognized as one of the greenest cities in Wisconsin by Insurify
2018: ZipRecruiter ranked Oshkosh #3 on it’s list for The Best Job Markets for 2018.
2018: smartasset.com ranked Oshkosh #9 on it’s list for The Top 10 Cities for Working Parents in 2018
2018: Oshkosh Ranked #3 for the 10 under-the-radar cities with great tech career opportunities in CIO Magazine, a publication tailored to technology professionals.
2018: WalletHub ranked Wisconsin #6 Best in their 2018’s Best & Worst States to Raise a Family list.
2018: Oshkosh ranked #4 in The 10 Best Cities For Singles in Wisconsin by HomeSnacks in 2018.
Oshkosh-Neenah MSA ranked #9 in Top 11 Cities for Millennial Home Buyers by Ellie Mae in 2017
2017: Oshkosh listed #18 on list of Top 100 Overlooked Dream Cities by Goodcall.com.
2017: smartasset.com ranked Oshkosh – Neenah #9 on its list of the Top 10 Best Places to Work in Manufacturing list.
2017: Oshkosh-Neenah has been ranked as a prime area for travel and a “Best Place for Business Travelers” as released by Churchill Living. The full report can be found at www.furnishedhousing.com/blog/2017-best-places-to-travel-for-business. Oshkosh-Neenah WI was ranked #77 in the US for business climate, economic health, traveler leisure, and traveler commute convenience.
2017: Value Penguin ranked Oshkosh #38 out of 382 metropolitan areas on their list of the best cities in the U.S. for recent college grads. This study ranked cities based on three factors: availability of jobs, affordability, and lifestyle. Oshkosh ranked third in jobs, 164th in affordability, and 178th in lifestyle. The study used 27 different data points to compile its rankings. These included the amount of debt here, median annual salary, transportation and food costs, etc.
2017: Oshkosh ranked #7 of the Top 10 Cities for Working Parents in a study done by SmartAsset. Data was collected from 446 major U.S. Cities and were evaluated base don unemployment rate, median household income, median annual housing costs, average travel time to work, high school graduation rate, average cost of child rate and more.
2017: Forbes Magazine ranked Oshkosh #82 in its annual list of Best Places for Business and Careers.
2016: SmartAsset ranked Winnebago County 2nd in Wisconsin in its second annual study on counties receiving the greatest amount of investment in their local economies. Winnebago County ranked due to performance across four categories: business establishment growth, GDP growth, new building permits, and municipal bond investment.
2015: The Miliken Institute released its 2015 rankings for the best performing cities – where America’s jobs are created and sustained. Oshkosh ranks #6 in the state, and #105 among the 201 Small Communities in the U.S. that were ranked.
2015: Oshkosh-Neenah ranked #25 Mid-size City for Renters in a study done by homeownersinsurance.com
2015: Oshkosh ranked #49 on the list of the Best Small Cities in the Nation in a new study from Nerd Wallet.
2015: Oshkosh ranked #6 in Wisconsin and #149 in the Country for the resale home market in a study done by Smartasset.com.
2015: Oshkosh ranked #5 in Wisconsin and #102 out of 381 Metropolitan Statistical Areas by Policom for economic strength.
2015: Oshkosh ranked #5 in Wisconsin and #49 out of 1,300 of the best small cities in a study done by consumer advocacy site NerdWallet.
2014: Oshkosh ranked #104 in Policom Corporation’s 2014 Economic Strength Ranking, that’s up 6 spots from last year.
2013: Oshkosh ranked #110 in Policom Corporation’s 2013 Economic Strength Ranking that’s up 25 spots from last year; the 4th highest in the state.
2013: New Geography ranked Oshkosh #101 for the 2013 Best Cities for Job Growth in the Small Sized Cities Rankings.
2012: CQ Press ranked Oshkosh-Neenah the sixth safest metropolitan area in the nation in 2012, based on FBI violent crime statistics
2012: Area Development Online ranked the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA first in Wisconsin and 59th in the nation for economic and workforce growth indicators.
2011: Barron’s ranked Oshkosh Corporation No. 1 in the Barron’s 500, a ranking of the largest publicly-traded companies as measured by sales in the last fiscal year.
2010: The Oshkosh-Neenah MSA ranked 15th in 2010 among small towns in a Farmers Insurance “Most Secure Places to Live” study.
2010: Business Week ranked Oshkosh “Best Place to Raise Your Kids” in its 2010 survey of cities.
2009: CQ Press ranked the Oshkosh-Neenah MSA the 18th safest place to live of the 344 metropolitan areas in the United States.