Money's list of America's best small cities


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88. Ramapo, NY
Ramapo
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 88
Population: 116,000
Compare Ramapo to Top 10 Best Places
This quiet, safe suburb near the New York-New Jersey border is just 45 minutes from Manhattan, so it attracts many families with one or more parents who have jobs in the big city.

There's lots to do in Ramapo, including golfing on an 18-hole public course, riding at its equestrian center, and kicking soccer balls at its recently built sport complex.

Culture lovers appreciate the weekly classic film festivals, thriving arts and theater scene, and multiple town-sponsored concerts. --N.A.

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Is Ramapo a great town, or what?
Ramapo stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $87,562 $90,957
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 0.87% 15.71%
See jobs near Ramapo
Median home price $365,000 $239,391
See Ramapo homes for sale
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 11.0% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 3.3% 22.9%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 33 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 203 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 5,375 2,967
High temp in July ° F 84.2° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 19.7° 21.3°
Median age 30.3 35.3
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $87,562 $90,957
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $74,017 $86,860
State sales tax 4.00% 5.45%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 8.97%I 7.35%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 4.00%I 2.96%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 N.A. $1,707
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 0.87% 15.71%
See jobs near Ramapo
Housing
Median home price $365,000 $239,391
Average property taxes
(2008)		 $9,308 $3,418
See Ramapo homes for sale
Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 108 25
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 11.0% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 3.3% 22.9%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 41.3/58.7 87.8/12.2
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 N.A. 77.8%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 33 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 203 24
Median commute time (in minutes) 22.8 21.4
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 28.3% 13.6%
% population walk or bike to work 4.9% 3.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 47 31
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 5,375 2,967
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 291 207
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 359 162
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 168 72
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 32 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 46 12
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 2.7 1.5
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 51.35 37.40
% clear days in the area 29 29
High temp in July ° F 84.2° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 19.7° 21.3°
Median age 30.3 35.3
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 59.9% 71.5%
Married % 55.4% 56.6%
Divorced % 5.4% 8.4%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 109.6 94.9
From the August 2010 issue
Notes: *County data
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2008 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.

(I) Income tax notes:
The tax brackets reported are for single individuals. For married taxpayers, the same rates apply to income brackets ranging from $16,000 to $500,000.
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Find Your Best Places
Region
Northeast South
Midwest West
Ranking
Top 100 winners only
Population
8.4M
46,000
Home Prices
2009 median sales prices
$1.2M
$36K
Video
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 cities for families. (Last year, we looked at small towns, with populations between 8,500 and 50,000.) More

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