Money's list of America's best small cities


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25. Gaithersburg, MD
Gaithersburg
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 25
Population: 59,000
Compare Gaithersburg to Top 10 Best Places
Gaithersburg's ability to attract start-up companies has allowed it to rebound from the recession better than many other places. The town offers plenty of incubator-styled office space.

Large employers nearby include Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.

Gaithersburg is just an hour's train ride to D.C. and hour car ride to downtown Baltimore, so residents can work in either town - and soak up the culture of both. --Najib Aminy

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Is Gaithersburg a great town, or what?
Gaithersburg stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $90,898 $90,957
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 3.64% 15.71%
See jobs near Gaithersburg
Median home price $261,950 $239,391
See Gaithersburg homes for sale
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 8.7% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 10.3% 22.9%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 23 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 203 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 3,056 2,967
High temp in July ° F 86.8° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 24.2° 21.3°
Median age 34.6 35.3
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $90,898 $90,957
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $74,507 $86,860
State sales tax 6.00% 5.45%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 6.25% 7.35%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 2.00% 2.96%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $2,217 $1,707
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 3.64% 15.71%
See jobs near Gaithersburg
Housing
Median home price $261,950 $239,391
Average property taxes
(2008)		 $4,186 $3,418
See Gaithersburg homes for sale
Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 38 25
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 8.7% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 10.3% 22.9%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 96.9/3.1 87.8/12.2
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 74.0% 77.8%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 23 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 203 24
Median commute time (in minutes) 29.1 21.4
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 28.2% 13.6%
% population walk or bike to work 3.2% 3.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 25 31
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 3,056 2,967
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 58 207
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 201 162
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 59 72
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 30 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 7 12
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 2.6 1.5
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 43.77 37.40
% clear days in the area 29 29
High temp in July ° F 86.8° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 24.2° 21.3°
Median age 34.6 35.3
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 73.6% 71.5%
Married % 50.1% 56.6%
Divorced % 8.4% 8.4%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 289.6 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.
  • Homes for sale
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  • Real estate and homes for sale on Trulia
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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