Lawrence, Kansas

Naperville, Illinois

Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County and sixth-largest city in Kansas. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 87,643; by 2017 the population rose to 96,892. Lawrence is a college town and the home to both the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University. Lawrence was founded by the New England Emigrant Aid Company (NEEAC), and was named for Amos Adams Lawrence, a Republican abolitionist originally from Massachusetts, who offered financial aid and support for the settlement. Lawrence was central to the "Bleeding Kansas" period (1854–61), and the site of the Wakarusa War (1855) and the Sack of Lawrence (1856). During the American Civil War it was also the site of the Lawrence massacre (1863). Lawrence began as a center of free-state politics. Its economy diversified into many industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, and education, beginning with the founding of the University of Kansas in 1865 and Haskell Indian Nations University in 1884.

Naperville () is a city in DuPage and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located 28 miles (45 km) west of Chicago, Naperville was founded in 1831 and developed into the fifth-largest city in Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 141,853, which was estimated to have increased to 147,682 by 2017.In a 2010 study assessing cities with populations exceeding 75,000, Naperville was ranked as the wealthiest city in the Midwest and the eleventh wealthiest in the nation. It was ranked among the nation's safest cities by USA Today and Business Insider. Naperville was voted the second-best place to live in the United States by Money magazine in 2006 and it was rated first on the list of best cities for early retirement in 2013 by Kiplinger. In 2015, it was ranked as one of the most educated large cities in America with populations over 50,000.