It's a great place to raise a family.

It's no longer just an expression for the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce; they have evidence to back it up.

St. Joseph came out third in Missouri in the "Best Places in America to Raise Kids" ranking by Business Week.

"To be recognized for something like this by an international magazine - I can't even calculate a value," said Ted Allison, chief executive officer of the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce.

Lee's Summit, a Kansas City suburb, ranked first in the state, followed by St. Charles. In Kansas, the top communities were Overland Park, Olathe and Wichita.

The most important factors in the ranking were school performance, affordability and safety, Business Week reported, but other amenities such as air quality, job growth, racial diversity and parks were considered.

"We have programs that are targeting the development of our youth," Mr. Allison said.

He also pointed out St. Joseph's parkway system, the new Remington Nature Center, the St. Joseph Symphony and Missouri Western State University.

"It's things like this that make this a pretty cool place," he said.

The survey considered only communities with populations more than 50,000 and median household income between $40,000 and $100,000.

Community leaders hope the ranking will draw positive attention to St. Joseph.

"To have that third party validation is important," said Steve Huff, spokesman for the St. Joseph School District. "Hopefully the chamber will be able to use that as a way to entice prospective employers to come here."

During site selection, companies consider quality of life issues, especially education, Mr. Allison said.

"We see more and more economic development that is a function of the community's ability to attract and retain workers in future," he said.

The ranking can be a great asset in that process, he said. It also emphasizes that education and economic development issues are interconnected.

"Schools do produce the work force and the work force in turn supports the schools," Mr. Huff said. "We are in this together."

Business editor Susan Mires can be reached at susanm@npgco.com.