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Portland residents who crave a bit more open space often head to Hillsboro, a gorgeous community just 20 miles to the west. Others come to work for big technology employers like Intel and the solar panel manufacturer SolarWorld. Moderate temperatures mean that an astounding array of outdoor activities are available virtually year-round, and when the craving for culture hits, the mecca of Portland is a quick light-rail ride away. --E.R.
Notes:
*County data
Due to erroneous job, cost-of-living, and test score stats for a small number of places, this city's rank changed slightly from an earlier version.
Details.
Due to an error by our data provider, an earlier version listed incorrect stats for this city's number of colleges.
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2011 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.
(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. For joint returns, taxes are twice the tax on half the couple’s income. The personal exemption takes the form of a tax credit instead of a deduction. The deduction for federal income tax is limited to $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for joint returns in Missouri and Montana, and to $5,950 for all filers in Oregon.
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.)
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