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Sandy gets a lift each August with its two-day Hot Air Balloon Festival.
This Salt Lake City suburb, which sits under the towering Wasatch Mountains, has dubbed itself "the ultimate base camp." Easy to see why: It offers quick access to four world-class ski resorts, the 20,000-seat Rio Tinto Stadium, several shopping centers, and the Sandy Amphitheater. While many residents still commute to Salt Lake City for work, Sandy continues to attract businesses with its warm sense of welcome. Becton Dickinson Medical, E*Trade, and Comcast have all found a home here. Although houses aren't outrageously priced, they are more expensive than in many other areas of the state. --L.G.
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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