Springfield, MA vs Springfield, MO vs Springfield IL
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They're all similar in size and all have similar unfortunately high crime rates.
Certainly wouldn't single out the one in Missouri as being worse.
Haven't been to the one in Mass.
The one in Illinois always struck me as being very similar to the MO one. Okay, but nothing special.
I like the one in Missouri well enough. More interesting part of the country than central Illinois, and it's closer to KC.
Springfield, MA ~ Springfield, IL > Springfield, MO, imo. Surrounding areas of MA and MO are much prettier than IL, but all the history-based tourism and the fact that it's a capital pull IL above MO, in my opinion.
I have never been to Springfield MA - but I lived in Springfield IL for some time, and have been to Springfield MO several times. This is always hard because there are so many way to measure an area, but in reality what we try to do on paper does not really translate to the quality of life the residents feel.
From my perspective - I voted for SGF MO.
Springfield MO has much more to do than IL - these three have nothing comparable in SPG IL:
- Dickerson Park Zoo (IL zoo is reported to have 80 species, MO is reported to have 160 species)
- Pro Bass Shop (its more than just a store, and the headquarters / home office)
- Wonders of Wildlife National Aquarium
- Missouri State and college sports
Illinois has the State Fair, which is larger, but MO has the Ozark Empire Fair which is pretty large too
Then there is proximity to the Ozarks, Branson and Silver Dollar City and general terrain that is more appealing to my eye. Each have a lake (IL is larger, and I am not sure how much MO uses theirs, since I have never been on it).
IL has the state government. It also does appear to have a higher household income, but aside from that SPG MO has lower unemployment, lower taxes, higher job growth and higher future job growth predictions all coming from this site:
I also think the Springfield MO, perhaps due to its distance from St. Louis or other metro areas, is more "independent" than IL and perhaps MA with its ties to Hartford. Example, the MO TV market ranks 73, IL is combined with Champaign and Decatur at 88 and MA is listed with Holyoke at 111.
Springfield IL and MA have Amtrak (MO does not), but MO has the busier airport (IL relies on STL, MA shares the airport with Hartford). All are on interstate routes, though MA and IL each have north / south and east / west (MA with 90 and 91, IL with 55 and 72).
Per the Feds - here are the GDP for each of the areas:
SGF MO 20.8m (2019) also the MSA is ranked 117 by population
SGF IL 10.9m (2019) also the MSA is ranked 220 by population
SGF MA 31.2m (2019) and the MSA is ranked 84 by population
There is at least one incorporated town/city officially named "Springfield" in every state. Thats 50 Springfileds! Theres a funny wiki page about it.
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