Categories: News

Where Are the Best Small Cities in America?

Princeton, NJ: Aimin Tang/iStock

Big-city living isn’t for everyone. High housing costs, congested streets and sidewalks, and a fast pace of life can take a toll on residents’ stress levels, as well as their wallets. But at the other extreme, country living can be deadly dull, with not a peep from anyone but the birds for miles around on a Saturday night.

So why not try something in the middle, like a small city?

The Indianapolis suburb of Westfield was crowned the best small city in the country, according to recent WalletHub report. The personal finance website ranked 1,268 small cities, with between 25,000 and 100,000 residents, based on 30 livability factors.

“Consumers have shown interest in these cities that fall in between midsize cities and tiny towns,” says WalletHub data analyst Jill Gonzalez, adding that most of the places on the list are near big cities. “Many times, they’re more affordable [and provide] the best of both worlds with things like great education and health care systems and widespread job opportunities.”

Cities were judged on criteria that included housing costs, quality of the local public schools, and violent crime rates. They also took into account the things that make living in a city (even a small one) enjoyable, such as the number of restaurants, cafes, and museums, as well as average commute times.

It is worth noting, however, that the median home prices for all of the small cities on the list were significantly higher than the $227,700 national median price, according to a recent National Association of Realtors® report.

WalletHub took into account the cities’ median incomes and whether residents could afford to buy a home of their own when it came up with its rankings.

For example, median list prices in Westfield are $330,000, according to realtor.com®. But the median household income in the city was $85,071 in 2014, according to U.S. Census data.

“They can actually buy a good amount of home especially because Indiana has a lower cost of living,” Gonzalez says. “People can still spend a lot of time with their families because of lower commute times and shorter work hours.”

Westfield, a former stop on the Underground Railroad, is now home to Grand Park, a 400-acre sports complex with 31 fields used for soccer, football, rugby, field hockey, and lacrosse and 26 baseball diamonds.

“It has very easy access to Indianapolis and other areas for employment. The schools are great,” says local Realtor® Craig Kaiser of Coldwell Banker Kaiser. And it has “a true community atmosphere.”

The area also has walking and biking trails that connect the city (population nearly 37,000) to other towns in the area.

Coming in second was the scenic college town of Princeton, NJ. The median home price in the city that is home to Princeton University is a whopping $699,000, according to realtor.com.

Leawood, Kansas City, MO, suburb, took third place. Littleton, CO, and Brookfield, WI, rounded out the top five.

Leawood had the highest high school graduation rate, with 99.2% of residents receiving a diploma, according to Gonzalez.

“It’s a very highly educated workforce that leads to a lot more job opportunities,” she says.

Most of the homes for sale in the small Kansas city are single-family houses in subdivisions, says local Realtor Tamra Trickey of ReeceNichols

“It has all of the charm of a small town, but it has wonderful entertainment and is very close to Kansas City,” Trickey says. “We benefit from both sides of the state line.”