First things first: Lafayette is across the Wabash River from, and sister city to, West Lafayette, the site of Purdue University. But Lafayette still benefits enormously from the esteemed academic institution just two miles from its core, economically and academically. The city was in our top 10 for Universities, at #9, with Ivy Tech Community College and Indiana Tech to call its own. Education, tech, and advanced manufacturing keep the economy humming along, with the city’s population among the most educated and diverse in country: Lafayette ranked #35 for Educational Attainment (88% high school graduates and almost 25% bachelor’s degree) and #44 for Foreign Born. Lafayette is keen on expanding the downtown core with new investments in underused areas. Take the $17-million mixed-use Nova project now underway. With 76 dwellings and 6,000 square feet of retail space, the design features two buildings on either side of an alley. In a Lafayette first, developers purchased easement rights to the air space above the lane.