Home to the University of Nebraska’s flagship campus, Lincoln is much more than a college town—it’s a regional hub where settling down to raise a family doesn’t mean settling for less than a cosmopolitan urban experience, albeit a subdued, considered one. While Lincoln may be growing, it’s still a place where strangers greet one another on the sidewalk and the whole community gets together to back Cornhuskers football (or at least they will as soon as we get a vaccine). With a #18 ranking for Educational Attainment, Lincoln has a diversified, knowledge-based economy centered on the university and its research dollars. Families appreciate Lincoln’s affordable cost of living and well-regarded public schools, but the city is also investing millions in public transit and a revitalized downtown, which is attracting younger talent, too. And since joining the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities initiative in 2016, forward-thinking Lincoln is also working on open-data and performance management programs to make the city work better for everyone.