City Lifestyle

What City Lifestyle does

City Lifestyle, operating under the legal entity Lifestyle Publications, LLC, is a privately held Kansas City, Missouri-based company that publishes a network of local lifestyle magazines across the United States. Founded in 2009 by Steven Schowengerdt (CEO) and led with Matthew Perry as President, the company runs each city edition through a franchise model in which local entrepreneurs launch, operate, and distribute a co-branded magazine in their community while the parent company provides brand, editorial framework, training, and operational support. Editions are active in markets including Huntsville, Paradise Valley, Franklin, Boulder, Westport, Boerne, Dripping Springs, and Eden Prairie, spanning Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, Mountain West, West Coast, and Northeast regions.

The product portfolio centers on the printed local lifestyle magazine, complemented by a digital presence (citylifestyle.com, city-specific landing pages), a podcast (Share The Lifestyle), an email newsletter, and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube). An adjacent service, Social Media Marketing (accelerate.citylifestyle.com), extends the offering to managed digital campaigns for local advertisers. The franchise acquisition funnel is run through future.citylifestyle.com. The company has no proprietary technology platform and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities.

City Lifestyle generates revenue from two primary streams: local business advertising placed inside each edition's magazine, and franchise/license fees from individuals who purchase the right to operate a new city edition. The company does not publicly disclose pricing for either stream. Customers are local community residents (readers), local small and mid-sized businesses (advertisers across categories such as food and beverage, health and wellness, real estate, and professional services), and aspiring publisher-franchisees. Headcount is reported at 101-250 employees, and the company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investment, parent company, or M&A activity.

Name

City Lifestyle

Legal name

Lifestyle Publications, LLC

Website

https://citylifestyle.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

City Lifestyle is a Kansas City-based franchise network that publishes local lifestyle magazines across the United States, connecting community residents with local businesses via print, digital, and social channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Lifestyle Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Lifestyle & Fashion Magazines (MPAJAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN), Entertainment & Celebrity Magazines (MPAJAEAK)

Keywords

• Local lifestyle magazines
• Magazine franchise program
• Community publishing
• Local business advertising
• Hyper-local media

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Magazine Advertising: Local businesses advertise in the local lifestyle magazines, reaching community residents. The publications feature local businesses across categories including arts, food & beverage, health & wellness, real estate, professional services, and more.
2. Franchise Fees: Individuals pay to start their own City Lifestyle magazine franchise in their local community, gaining access to the brand, operational framework, and support systems.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

City Lifestyle publishes a network of city-specific lifestyle magazines distributed in print and digitally across U.S. markets, generating revenue primarily from local business advertising and franchise fees paid by independent local operators. Each edition covers local businesses, residents, arts, food and beverage, health and wellness, real estate, and community stories, with supporting offerings including a podcast and social media marketing services for advertisers.

Product overview

City Lifestyle operates as a network of local lifestyle magazines, offering a core platform for community-focused editorial content. The product portfolio includes the main City Lifestyle Network of local magazine editions, a franchise program (City Lifestyle Ownership) enabling entrepreneurs to launch new local publications, the Share The Lifestyle Podcast as a multimedia extension, Social Media Marketing Services for local business advertising, and individual city-specific magazine editions. The network connects residents to local businesses, inspirational stories, and community events through print and digital channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• City Lifestyle Network Core product: a national network of city-specific lifestyle magazines distributed in print and digitally, featuring editorial coverage of local businesses, residents, arts, food and beverage, health and wellness, real estate, and community stories.
• City Lifestyle Magazine Ownership (Franchise Program)
• Share The Lifestyle Podcast
• Social Media Marketing Services
• City Lifestyle Local Editions

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Axios Local: Axios Local is Axios's expansion into city-focused digital newsletters and local reporting across multiple US markets. Comparable to City Lifestyle in city-by-city content focus and SMB audience, but operates as a digital-only, venture-backed platform.
• Patch: Patch is a hyperlocal digital news and community platform covering thousands of US neighborhoods and towns. Comparable to City Lifestyle in its local content mission and SMB advertiser focus, but delivered digitally without a print component.

Direct peers

• Austin Monthly: Austin Monthly is a city lifestyle magazine covering Austin's dining, culture, real estate, and local businesses. One of City Lifestyle's identified franchise markets (Dripping Springs/Burnet area), making it a directly comparable city lifestyle publication competing in an overlapping market.
• Boston Magazine: Boston Magazine covers local news, dining, culture, and lifestyle for Boston residents and SMB advertisers. Comparable to City Lifestyle in editorial focus, audience demographic, and SMB advertising model.
• Atlanta Magazine: Atlanta Magazine is a city-focused lifestyle publication covering dining, culture, and local businesses in the Atlanta metro. Comparable to City Lifestyle in audience and content mix, though operated as a single market rather than a franchise network.
• Philadelphia Magazine: Philadelphia Magazine (PhillyMag) is a regional city lifestyle publication with print and digital editions covering local businesses, dining, and culture. Similar to City Lifestyle's product mix and revenue model, focused on a single metropolitan market.
• American Lifestyle Magazine: American Lifestyle Magazine is a national lifestyle publication network covering local communities, businesses, and culture across multiple US markets. Comparable to City Lifestyle in the multi-market lifestyle publication model and SMB advertising focus.
• D Magazine: D Magazine is a long-standing Dallas-based city lifestyle publication covering local businesses, dining, arts, and culture. It shares City Lifestyle's core model of a single city-focused lifestyle magazine serving affluent residents and local SMB advertisers.

Broad incumbents

• Where Magazine: Where Magazine is a long-established city-focused lifestyle and travel publication distributed in many major US and international cities. Comparable to City Lifestyle's city-by-city lifestyle editorial approach, though distributed via hotel partnerships rather than franchisees.

Others

• Nextdoor: Nextdoor is a hyperlocal community social network connecting neighbors and local businesses in neighborhoods across the US. Comparable to City Lifestyle in connecting local residents with local businesses, but operates as a community platform rather than an editorial publication.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@mycitylifestyle
• Facebookfacebook.com/mycitylifestyle
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citylifestyle
• Instagraminstagram.com/citylifestyle/?hl=en
• Xx.com/Lifestyle_pub

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about City Lifestyle