Newsweek/Best small cities
By Joe Edwards
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In a country known for its bustling metropolises, small cities across the U.S. are quietly offering a blend of charm, community living and quality of life that is making them more alluring than their larger counterparts to many people.
Newsweek has mapped out the best small cities in the U.S., as listed in a new report by WalletHub.
The research compared over 1,300 U.S. cities with populations of 25,000 to100,000 on indicators of livability. These included living and housing costs, school-system quality and the local unemployment rate, as well as quality of life factors such as average commute time and the number of nearby attractions.
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Topping the list was Carmel, Indiana. It ranked first due to "strong economic factors," such as a low unemployment rate of 3 percent, low rent costs and strong median annual household income.
The city also performed well in terms of health and safety, having one of the lowest numbers of adults in fair or poor health, as well as the fourth-lowest pedestrian fatality rate and a low violent crime rate.
Coming in second was Brookfield, Wisconsin. The city had low unemployment and poverty rates, both at just 3 percent.
Residents of Brookfield enjoy high ownership rates, solid credit scores, as well as the fifth-lowest share of residents in fair or poor health. It had the 31st-lowest violent crime rate and the 19th-lowest pedestrian fatality rate.
Lexington, Massachusetts, ranked third. The report said this was due to the city boasting the fourth-lowest property crime rate and the 37th-lowest crime rate among the cities featured in the study, as well as a low number of car crash deaths and few drunk driving fatalities.
The city also had one of the highest median annual household incomes in the country, at over $206,000.
Finally, as Lexington is located in Massachusetts, it benefited from being in the state with one of the best school systems in the country, according to the study.
The cities in the overall top 10 were:
- Carmel, IN
- Brookfield, WI
- Lexington, MA
- Fishers, IN
- Appleton, WI
- Apex, NC
- Brentwood, TN
- Lancaster, PA
- Bozeman, MT
- Westfield, IN
Newsweek has previously mapped the "smartest" cities in America, according to an index released by ProptechOS, which evaluated cities based on tech infrastructure, sustainability, and the tech job market.
Seattle, Washington, emerged as the smartest city in the U.S. for 2024, overtaking last year's winner—Austin, Texas.
Seattle's ascent was attributed to its strong performance in both tech infrastructure and sustainability.
The city is home to major tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft, which contribute significantly to its high number of AI (34 per 100,000 people) and IoT companies (13 per 100,000 people).
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