Two rural municipalities in southern Manitoba have cracked Maclean's top-five list for best places to live on the prairies.

More than 400 locations across Canada were compared in terms of wealth and economy, population growth, affordability, taxes, commute, weather, crime, access to health care, culture and amenities.

When comparing only the prairie provinces, the RM of Hanover ranked number four on that list, with the RM of Tache right behind at number five.

"I guess quite an honour to get that kind of rating," says Hanover Reeve Stan Toews.

"We are absolutely tickled pink about this," adds Tache Mayor Justin Bohemier. "They are publishing something that all of us know very well."

Both Hanover and Tache fared well because of affordable housing, low crime and fast growing populations. In fact, Hanover happens to have the youngest population in all of Canada, with 28 per cent of residents being under the age of 15. In terms of fastest growing, Hanover is third in all of Manitoba, behind only Winkler and Steinbach.

"We have lots of young families owning their own homes and stuff which doesn't always happen in all parts of Canada," adds Toews.

The Hanover Reeve credits the people for making his municipality such a great place to live. Toews says council is trying to do its part by keeping taxes low and making it affordable for developers to build homes. He adds the businesses provide lots of employment in the area for the hard working people of Hanover.

Meanwhile, Bohemier says Tache is made up of seven unique communities.

"But there's one common thing that I keep seeing in all the towns," says Bohemier. "There is a real nice family atmosphere, neighbourly atmosphere, people try to get along, we all try to help each other out."