BLOOMINGTON - If you live in Bloomington, you're not alone. Missouri's version lost its status as a town; others have dwindled to a population of 100 or so. Only Minnesota's Bloomington is bigger, with about 10,000 more residents than our 75,000.

"We're not the only Bloomington and we're not even the biggest, but I believe we are the best," said Mayor Steve Stockton, acknowledging 10 other U.S. cities with the same name.

"You don't see other Bloomingtons listed in 'Money' magazine as the top 10 places to live. You don't see the other Bloomingtons listed in 'Golf Digest' as the one of the five best places to golf in the U.S," said Stockton, who likes to brag a little about his city.

Bloomington, Ill., is growing faster and richer than other Bloomingtons. Our median household income is $46,496. In Nebraska's Bloomington, for example, it's $15,000.

We're also the most highly educated. Of residents 25 years and older, almost 40 percent have bachelor's degrees or higher. Compare that to 7.6 percent for our Wisconsin namesake and less than 2 percent for Bloomington, Texas.

Won't you be my neighbor?

The character of Bloomington, Ind., is defined by its schools.

Indiana University, with its limestone buildings and abundant trees, is one of the five most beautiful campuses in the United States, claims author and landscape artist Thomas Gaines.

It's known for basketball and bicycling. "It is a very artistic and creative kind of town," said Sara Ollis, assistant deputy mayor.

One of its latest initiatives is the Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District, or BEAD, which has goals similar to the new Cultural District in downtown Bloomington, Ill.

The Hoosier city also is gaining a reputation for environmental initiatives, Ollis said, and is the hometown of rocker David Lee Roth, composer Hoagy Carmichael, basketball coach Bobby Knight and singer-songwriter John (Cougar) Mellencamp.

Mellencamp opened our U.S. Cellular Coliseum in April, joking about mix-ups he's had between the two cities.

Mosey on down the trail

Bloomington, Ill., residents are likely to ride bicycles on Constitution Trail, but residents of Bloomington, Calif., prefer horses on their trails.

"It's known as an equestrian community," said Dan Flores, a field representative for Josie Gonzales, superintendent of the 5th District of San Bernardino County, where Bloomington is located.

Horses come naturally to the area, said historian Eric Davenport. "Bloomington has always been an agricultural area. Horses were used to plow the field. We also have a very high Hispanic population and they have a lot of horses."

Numerous trails in the once 29-square-mile community have disappeared as developers bought much of the outlying area, Davenport said. The city has a mere 6 square miles of land for its nearly 20,000 residents.

Davenport and others hope to incorporate as a city.

"I think it's going to happen," said Lynda Gonzalez, chairman of the Bloomington Municipal Advisory Council. The group has successfully passed several initial steps in the process and now need 25 percent of the voters on a petition. "I like Bloomington a lot. One reason we were attracted to it were the bigger houses with big lots. My kids are in to motorcycles and dirt bikes."

The community is 45 minutes from Los Angeles, the ocean and Disneyland.

Home prices average $300,000 and gasoline costs between $3.15 and $3.50 a gallon. The Santa Ana winds blow three to four months out of the year.

"Sometimes we have snow, sometimes hail," Davenport said.

All in a name

Bloomington originally was called Blooming Grove, but other U.S. cities chose the name to reflect their prosperity or number of wildflowers in the community.

"Bloomington" is rarely found outside North America, but two high-growth municipalities near Toronto both use the name.