Money's list of America's best small towns


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37. Easton, MA
Easton
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 37
Population: 22,800
Compare Easton to Top 10 Best Places
A bedroom community of Boston with unemployment lower than the national average, Easton has a classic New England downtown that quickly yields to farmland.

Indeed, 15% of Easton's open land is conservation space and includes a farm-learning center. The rest is reserved for residential homes with large properties and architecture dating back to the late colonial era.

Because space is abundant, homes are relatively affordable: those with an acre-plus of land can be found for $400,000. On the downside, there's little shopping in town. --R.G.

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Easton stats
Median family income
(per year)		 $105,619 $97,441
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 4.13% 19.58%
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Median home price $272,381 $262,148
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 30.5% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 37.3% 28.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 9 19
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 2,290 1,923
High temp in July ° F* 83.1° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 18.6° 21.0°
Median age 36.2 36.6
Median family income
(per year)		 $105,619 $97,441
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $86,502 $95,041
State sales tax 5.00% 5.63%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 5.30%I 6.06%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 5.30%I 3.07%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 N.A. $1,744
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 4.13% 19.58%
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Median home price $272,381 $262,148
Average property taxes
(2007)		 $4,116 $3,853
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Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 54 20
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 30.5% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 37.3% 28.2%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 100.0/0.0 90.1/9.9
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 78.0% 78.6%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 9 19
Median commute time (in minutes) 22.7 22.5
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 23.6% 13.8%
% population walk or bike to work 4.7% 2.3%
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 24 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 2,290 1,923
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 99 174
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 309 148
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 92 53
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 25 7
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 20 17
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 2.0 1.2
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 49.11 39.77
% clear days in the area 27 27
High temp in July ° F* 83.1° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 18.6° 21.0°
Median age 36.2 36.6
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 70.7% 71.9%
Married % 55.3% 62.9%
Divorced % 6.2% 7.7%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 37.5 58.9
From the August 2009 issue
Notes:
* County data

(I) Income tax notes:
The 12% rate applies to short-term capital gains, long- and short-term capital gain on collectibles and pre-1996 installment sales classified as capital gain income for Massachusetts purposes. Taxpayers have the choice of paying an optional higher rate of 5.85%.
FORTUNE 500
Liberty Mutual Insurance Group 86
Raytheon 108
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How we picked the Best Places
Using statistics from data provider Onboard Informatics, we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small towns for families. (Last year, we looked at small cities, with populations between 50,000 and 300,000.) More

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