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90. Helena, AL
Helena
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 90
Population: 14,200
Compare Helena to Top 10 Best Places
Helena combines small-town charm with natural beauty. While Old Town Helena was built around railroads in the late 19th century, the downtown still brings the community together. Performances are hosted in an outdoor amphitheatre and local food vendors collect in town for Helena Market Days.

Step outside the downtown and you'll find the Buck creek running through the town, yielding to a flowing waterfall. If you enjoy a waterfront view, the town offers homes along the bank of the creek. However, more affordable housing is available, ranking Helena at the top of this category.

While Birmingham's only 11 miles away, the interstate runs through town and creates congestion. --R.G.

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Is Helena a great town, or what?
Helena stats
Median family income
(per year)		 $82,451 $97,441
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 41.94% 19.58%
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Median home price $160,000 $262,148
See Helena homes for sale
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 17.6% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 14.2% 28.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 8 19
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,250 1,923
High temp in July ° F* 91.5° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 31.4° 21.0°
Median age 31.1 36.6
Median family income
(per year)		 $82,451 $97,441
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $90,506 $95,041
State sales tax 4.00% 5.63%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 5.00%I 6.06%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 2.00%I 3.07%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $1,729 $1,744
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 41.94% 19.58%
See jobs near Helena
Median home price $160,000 $262,148
Average property taxes
(2008)		 $1,672 $3,853
See Helena homes for sale
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 9 20
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 17.6% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 14.2% 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)		 35.0% 78.6%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 8 19
Median commute time (in minutes) 30.1 22.5
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 21.5% 13.8%
% population walk or bike to work 0.7% 2.3%
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 15 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,250 1,923
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 85 174
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 67 148
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 50 53
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 2 7
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) N.A. 17
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 1.2 1.2
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 55.55 39.77
% clear days in the area 27 27
High temp in July ° F* 91.5° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 31.4° 21.0°
Median age 31.1 36.6
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 76.1% 71.9%
Married % 71.1% 62.9%
Divorced % 8.2% 7.7%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 40.7 58.9
From the August 2009 issue
Notes:
* County data

(I) Income tax notes:
Some states effectively double the bracket widths for joint filers (AL, AZ, CT, HI, ID, KS, LA, ME, NE, NY, OR). CA doubles all bracket widths except the $1,000,000 bracket. Some states increase, but don't double, all or some bracket widths for joint filers (GA, MN, NM, NC, ND, OK, RI, VT, WI). Some states do not adjust their brackets for joint filers (AR, DE, IA, KY, MS, MO, MT, OH, SC, VA, WV, DC). Of these states, some permit married couples to file separately to avoid a marriage penalty, and some allow joint filers to make an adjustment to reduce their tax after it is calculated. MD decreases some of its bracket widths and increases others. NJ adds a 2.45% rate and doubles some bracket widths.
Local rates are excluded; 14 states have county or city level income taxes. In each of these states the average rate for all counties and cities, weighted by total personal income within each jurisdiction, is: 0.19% in Ala.; 0.06% in Ark.; 0.16% in Del.; 1.16% in Ind.; 0.3% in Iowa.; 0.76% in Ky.; 2.98% in Md.; 0.44% in Mich.; 0.12% in Mo.; 0.09% in N.J.; 1.7% in N.Y.; 1.82% in Ohio; 0.36% in Ore.; and 1.25% in Pa.
Help your town win!
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5. Milton, MA Become a fan on facebook Add me! 1,425
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Population
8.3M
8,500
Home Prices
2008 median sales prices
$1.7M
$49K
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Homes for sale provided by Trulia Real Estate Search.

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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