Money's list of America's best small cities


12 of 100
BACKNEXT
12. Highlands Ranch, CO
Highlands Ranch
Clock Tower in Highlands Ranch
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 12
Population: 102,600
Compare Highlands Ranch to Top 10 Best Places
Just 12 miles southeast of Denver, Highlands Ranch is a young unincorporated community -- only 27 years old this year. Settled by Native Americans long ago, it remained a series of farms and ranches until the 1980s brought suburban development.

The community is home to the Highlands Ranch Mansion, or "Castle Isabel," a turn-of-the-century, 22,000-square foot structure built by a wealthy resident in 1904.

Though the area is still unincorporated – you might not find it on a map – community is strong here. All Highlands Ranch residents must follow a community covenant that has firm guidelines on housing modification, fencing, and contribution to the local library and recreation centers.

Median family income
(per year)		 $118,127 $93,313
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $113,584 $84,802
Sales tax 5.10% 6.60%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 N.A. 5.22%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 4.63% 2.42%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $1,552 $1,854
Job growth %
(2000-2007)		 44.65% 18.60%
Median home price $300,000 $293,712
Average property taxes
(2006)		 $2,753 $4,072
See Highlands Ranch homes for sale
See million-dollar homes
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 26 40
Junior colleges and
technical institutes (within 30 miles)		 21 20
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 34.7% 17.3%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 56.1% 16.6%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 91.8/8.2 89.5/10.5
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 84.5% 76.0%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 13 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) N.A.3 25
Median commute time
(in minutes)		 23.9 23.0
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 16.7% 15.8%
% population walk or bike to work 1.1% 3.0%
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 59 51
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 3,494 4,141
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 395 338
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 186 242
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 76 90
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 5 11
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 16 13
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 0.9 1.5
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 17.97 36.31
% clear days in the area 32 30
High temp in July ° F 85.8° 87.8°
Low temp in Jan ° F 14.3° 22.9°
Has health plan
(% of residents)		 85.9% 88.2%
Body mass index (avg. for residents) 25 27
Diabetes rates
(% of residents diagnosed)		 7.0% 9.6%
Hypertension rates
(% of residents diagnosed)		 20.3% 27.3%
Median age 31.0 36.0
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 87.2% 73.6%
Married 72.5% 57.5%
Divorced 6.8% 8.3%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 45.8 104.0
Amount spent on vacations
(domestic and foreign, household avg. per year)		 $8,509 $8,012
From the August 2008 issue
Notes:
* County data
** State data
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2006 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.
See Highlands Ranch in...
...Featured Places
  • NEXT
    BACK
    Where the jobs are
    Especially in a tough economy, plentiful job opportunities are key to being a great place to live. These 25 counties have experienced the most job growth over the last seven years.
    See them all
...What Readers Say
They speak out on Highlands Ranch and other places ...
Nearby...
FORTUNE 500
Qwest Communications 187
DISH Network 240
See the rest
FORTUNE: Best to work for
CH2M HILL 54
PCL Construction 77
See the rest
EMAILFeedback on the Best Places to Live list?
E-mail the editors
On Board LLC
Information powered by Onboard Informatics
Some data may be provided courtesy of its partners.
Sperling's Best Places
Additional data and consulting services provided by Bert Sperling's bestplaces.net.
Homes For Sale
Homes for sale provided by Trulia Real Estate Search.
  • Find Homes for sale
    Real estate and homes for sale on Trulia

  • Property Type
  • Find a home in:
  • New York | Atlanta | Chicago | Los Angeles
  • Washington D.C | Houston | Philadelphia | More options
Search by city or state
City
State
Video
  • NEXT
    Why Plymouth is No. 1
    A sense of home, parks and award-winning schools help put this Minnesota city at the top of Money's Best Places to Live list. Watch
  • NEXT
    BACK
    Why Fort Collins is a natural pick
    Green-minded residents love this Colorado city, no. 2 on Money's Best Places to Live list, where you can borrow a bike, and enjoy the nearby mountains. Watch
  • NEXT
    BACK
    Naperville's family feel
    Great schools, a vibrant downtown and low crime help put this small city near Chicago at No. 3 on Money's Best Places to Live list. Watch
  • NEXT
    BACK
    Hoboken's great singles scene
    For the second year running, Hoboken takes the top spot for the over 30 and single scene, as part of Money's Best Places to Live. Watch
  • BACK
    Where to beat the gas crunch
    In places like State College, Pa., commutes are short or many residents get to work in ways that dont use a lot of fuel. Watch
 
iReport
iReport
Is your town a great place to live?
Do you live in a great place? Does your city have great cafes and culture? Lovely affordable homes? Low crime and a thriving downtown? A thriving local economy? Amazing neighbors? Show us why your town is remarkable: Send your photos and videos, and they could be profiled in an upcoming story.
 
Top 3

City Median income
New Canaan, CT $231,138
Darien, CT $218,130
Lake Forest, IL $212,122
See the rest
City % single
Hoboken, NJ 57.7%
Cambridge, MA 52.4%
Somerville, MA 51.4%
See the rest
City Median home price
Nicholasville, KY $70,000
Watauga, TX $117,040
Redan, GA $115,000
See the rest
How we picked the Best Places
Using statistics from data provider Onboard Informatics and consultant Bert Sperling of BestPlaces.net, we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small cities for families. (Last year, we looked at small towns, with populations between 7,500 and 50,000.) More
Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2013 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2013 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2013. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2013 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .