Money's list of America's best small cities


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4. Newton, MA
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Newton
The Jackson Homestead and Museum
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 4
Population: 84,700
Compare Newton to Top 10 Best Places
You might think folks in Newton are obsessed with education. The city is divided into 13 villages built around elementary schools, making it easy for kids to walk to school amid the city's lush greenery.

Being close to prestigious universities adds even more benefits -- MIT partnered with the innovation lab at a local high school on a project to convert algae into fuel, for example, and Boston College will donate $300,000 for technology for Newton schools over three years.

There's also a wealth of activities, from swimming at Crystal Lake to browsing boutiques in Newton Centre to celebrations like Taste of Newton. Though housing prices are high, families say the perks are well worth it.

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Newton stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $145,639 $96,825
Job growth %
(2000-2011)*		 -0.91% 25.01%
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Median home price $650,000 $269,768
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 60.8% 28.2%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 82.4% 29.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 14 20
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 5,742 3,134
High temp in July ° F 81.2° 86.8°
Low temp in Jan ° F 18.1° 18.4°
Median age 36.6 35.2
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $145,639 $96,825
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $123,632 $93,218
State sales tax 6.25% 5.57%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 5.30%I 7.31%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 5.30%I 3.08%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 N.A. $1,596
Job growth %
(2000-2011)*		 -0.91% 25.01%
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Housing
Median home price $650,000 $269,768
Average property taxes
(2011)		 $7,292 $6,517
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Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 67 8
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 60.8% 28.2%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 82.4% 29.2%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 74.9/25.1 91.5/8.5
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 93.1% 77.3%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 14 20
Median commute time (in minutes) 23.7 22.2
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 14.3% 14.9%
% population walk or bike to work 5.8% 3.2%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 60 33
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 5,742 3,134
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 266 199
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 312 169
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 179 70
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 28 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 15 6
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 1.7 1.4
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 51.22 34.21
% clear days in the area 27 32
High temp in July ° F 81.2° 86.8°
Low temp in Jan ° F 18.1° 18.4°
Median age 36.6 35.2
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 85.1% 72.6%
Married % 52.7% 57.9%
Divorced % 6.0% 8.0%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 67.1 118.4
From the September 2012 issue
Notes: *County data

Due to an error by our data provider, an earlier version listed incorrect stats for this city's number of colleges.

(I) Income tax notes:
17 states have statutory provision for automatically adjusting to the rate of inflation the dollar values of the income tax brackets, standard deductions, and/or personal exemptions. Massachusetts, Michigan, and Nebraska index the personal exemption only. Oregon does not index the income brackets for $125,000 and over. Because the inflation adjustments for 2012 are not yet available in some cases, the table may report the 2011 amounts.
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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 cities for families. (Last year, we looked at small towns, with populations between 8,500 and 50,000.) More

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