Money's list of America's best small towns


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29. Liberty, MO
Liberty
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 29
Population: 30,000
Compare Liberty to Top 10 Best Places
This clean, tree-lined college town (William Jewell College was founded here in 1849) is 15 miles northeast of downtown Kansas City near the Missouri River.

Five local historic districts and a slew of buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places pay homage to the days when Liberty was a critical steamboat dock bustling with merchandise and westward expansionists.

Today, the Hallmark Liberty Distribution Center is the city's largest employer. --D.G.

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Liberty stats
Median family income
(per year)		 $78,024 $97,441
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 6.78% 19.58%
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Median home price $149,656 $262,148
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 68.0% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 79.0% 28.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 2 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 21 19
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,508 1,923
High temp in July ° F* 88.6° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 17.1° 21.0°
Median age 36.0 36.6
Median family income
(per year)		 $78,024 $97,441
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $80,603 $95,041
State sales tax 4.00% 5.63%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 6.00%I 6.06%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 1.50%I 3.07%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $2,002 $1,744
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 6.78% 19.58%
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Median home price $149,656 $262,148
Average property taxes N.A. $3,853
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Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 16 20
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 68.0% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 79.0% 28.2%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 95.5/4.5 90.1/9.9
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 77.0% 78.6%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 2 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 21 19
Median commute time (in minutes) 20.0 22.5
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 7.6% 13.8%
% population walk or bike to work 2.7% 2.3%
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 26 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,508 1,923
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 173 174
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 104 148
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 43 53
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 2 7
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 1 17
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 2.5 1.2
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 37.29 39.77
% clear days in the area 33 27
High temp in July ° F* 88.6° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 17.1° 21.0°
Median age 36.0 36.6
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 65.4% 71.9%
Married % 56.6% 62.9%
Divorced % 11.0% 7.7%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 31.6 58.9
From the August 2009 issue
Notes:
* County data

(I) Income tax notes:
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.
Federal tax deduction limited to $5,000 or $10,000.
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.
Deduction or exemption tied to federal tax system. Federal deductions and exemptions are indexed for inflation.
Help your town win!
Money picked the top 100. Now it’s your turn: Which town will be our fan favorite? Become a fan of your town and it might just make it to No. 1. Results updated monthly.
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2. Chanhassen, MN Become a fan on facebook Add me! 2,410
3. Papillion, NE Become a fan on facebook Add me! 1,581
4. Middleton, WI Become a fan on facebook Add me! 1,481
5. Milton, MA Become a fan on facebook Add me! 1,425
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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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