Money's list of America's best small towns


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46. McCandless Township, PA
McCandless Township
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WINNER
Top 100 rank: 46
Population: 27,800
Compare McCandless Township to Top 10 Best Places
Outdoor enthusiasts love this hilly town 11 miles from Pittsburgh. It contains part of Allegheny County’s 3,075-acre North Park, which offers residents biking, hiking, and walking trails; a lake for fishing and boating; 18 ball fields; a golf course; wetlands; and more. McCandless is also home to the small Catholic college LaRoche, as well as a branch of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. A town center, lacking currently, is in the development stage. --N.D.
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Is McCandless Township a great town, or what?
McCandless Township stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $95,879 $99,975
Job growth %
(2000-2010)*		 -0.42% 24.63%
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Median home price $198,000 $265,929
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 46.8% 25.1%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 36.5% 24.7%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 13 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 143 16
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 2,818 2,758
High temp in July ° F 83.2° 84.1°
Low temp in Jan ° F 17.1° 20.9°
Median age 41.0 36.35
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $95,879 $99,975
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $104,786 $95,706
State sales tax 6.00% 5.75%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 N.A. 7.37%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 3.07% 3.13%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $2,018 $1,687
Job growth %
(2000-2010)*		 -0.42% 24.63%
See jobs near McCandless Township
Housing
Median home price $198,000 $265,929
Average property taxes
(2010)		 $4,477 $4,083
See McCandless Township homes for sale
Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 14 28
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 46.8% 25.1%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 36.5% 24.7%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 88.1/11.9 92.1/7.9
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 39.0% 78.5%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 13 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 143 16
Median commute time (in minutes) 24.5 23.3
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 11.6% 15.4%
% population walk or bike to work 1.5% 2.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 29 30
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 2,818 2,758
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 420 208
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 185 165
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 97 74
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 3 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 11 16
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 1.0 1.2
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 39.08 39.07
% clear days in the area 16 27
High temp in July ° F 83.2° 84.1°
Low temp in Jan ° F 17.1° 20.9°
Median age 41.0 36.35
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 75.2% 74.5%
Married % 60.2% 61.5%
Divorced % 6.0% 7.6%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 36.4 71.0
From the September 2011 issue
Notes: *County data
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2009 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.
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Hometown dish Town
1. Low Cal Tex Mex Seguin, TX
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4. Texas BBQ Luling, TX
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4. Mason, OH 181
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Find Your Best Places
Region
Northeast South
Midwest West
Ranking
Top 100 winners only
Population
8.4M
8,500
Home Prices
2010 median sales prices
$2.3M
$42K
How we picked the Best Places
Using statistics from data services company 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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