For Americans looking for more space, shorter commutes and potentially lower living costs, smaller cities can offer an alternative to life in a major metropolitan area.
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But not all small cities offer the same quality of life.
The personal finance website WalletHub ranked more than 1,300 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 45 measures, including affordability, economic health, education and health, quality of life and safety.
Lexington, Massachusetts ranked No. 1 small city
Big picture view:
Lexington, Massachusetts ranked as the No. 1. small city in America. It had the fourth-lowest property crime rate and 21st-lowest violent crime rate among the cities surveyed. Its median annual household income was more than $238,000, while its median credit score was 783 – the ninth-highest median credit score of those analyzed.
Lexington, Massachusetts was ranked No. 1 among more than 1,300 small U.S. cities. (Credit: Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Brookfield, Wisconsin, ranked second. The city had a 3% unemployment rate and a poverty rate of 3.2%, which WalletHub said was among the lowest in the country. Nearly 98% of residents had health insurance, and the city also ranked well for safety. Carmel, Indiana, came in third.
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What they’re saying:
“Moving from a bustling metropolis to a small city could drastically cut down your cost of living,” Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst, said in a statement. On top of that, the best small cities offer strong job markets, high-quality education, good health care, safe living conditions and plenty of local flair to help you achieve a high quality of life.”
He added, “While small cities may lack some advantages of big cities, like robust public transportation systems, they make up for these shortcomings in other areas.”
Best small cities to live in America
- Lexington, Massachusetts
- Brookfield, Wisconsin
- Carmel Indiana
- Apex, North Carolina
- Saratoga Springs, New York
See the full report here.
Nearly half of Americans would prefer to live in suburbs
Dig deeper:
Nearly half of Americans, 47%, say they would prefer to live in the suburbs, compared with 24% who prefer urban areas and 23% who favor rural communities, according to WalletHub.
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According to the Economic Policy Institute, a two-parent, two-child family in a small city such as Hanford, California, would need $8,417 per month to cover the cost of living, compared with more than twice that amount $19,275 for the same family in San Francisco.
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