Best Mannered Cities: South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota Rankings

The concept of 'Midwest Nice' is something we hear about quite often in this part of the world. It's the notion that we just treat people better around here than in any other part of America.

Whether or not 'Midwest Nice' is a myth or legend greatly varies as you travel around the region, but most of us certainly know it when we see it.

So which places are best examples of 'Midwest Nice'?

Best Bet Michigan surveyed 2,000 people from Midwestern states to ask about how polite they perceived people in their cities to be. The politeness scale included things like the willingness to hold the door for strangers, yield in traffic, tip well, smile and say hello to strangers, and help a neighbor with chores.

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When you factor in all of that, it turns out that 'Midwest Nice' is alive and well in the Tri-State area (South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota) with four cities in the top seven.

MOST POLITE MIDWESTERN CITIES 

1. St. Paul, Minnesota
2. Overland Park, Kansas
3. Naperville, Illinois
4. Minneapolis, Minnesota
5. Des Moines, Iowa
6. Akron, Ohio
7. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
8. Peoria, Illinois
9. Omaha, Nebraska
10. Indianapolis, Indiana

The survey found that Minnesota is the friendliest of the Midwest States with folks in Minneapolis the most likely to tip well (71%).

Iowa's biggest city, Des Moines, is the place where people hold doors for others most often (90%).

As well as we fared in this survey, things did not bode well for Indiana and Missouri.

The Hoosier State is home to the two rudest cities and the Show Me State put three cities in the top ten.

RUDEST MIDWESTERN CITIES

1. Evansville, Indiana
2. Fort Wayne, Indiana
3. Rockford, Illinois
4. Columbus, Ohio
5. Detroit, Michigan
6. Joliet, Illinois
7. Kansas City, Missouri
8. Springfield, Missouri
9. St. Louis, Missouri
10. Wichita, Kansas