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12. Parker, CO
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Parker, CO
12
Top 50 rank: 12
Population: 47,790

Parker, established in 1981, may be young, but it already has more to offer than many older towns. Local favorites include the performing-arts center, which has a 500-seat theater and an outdoor amphitheater, and the H2O'Brien Pool water park.

The housing crash hit Parker hard, but the town's proximity to Denver (30 minutes) has helped the market rally; new construction is up, and entry-level homes priced at under $300,000 are selling quickly. --K.F.

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Parker, CO
Town stats
Median family income (per year)
$104,625
Job growth % (2010-2012)
7.45%
Median home price (2012)
$285,500
Reading test scores (% above/below average)
22.2%
Math test scores (% above/below average)
30.7%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)
1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)
11
Financials
Town stats
Median family income (per year)
$104,625
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)
$100,062
Sales tax
8.00%
State income tax rate (highest bracket)
4.63%I
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)
4.63%I
Auto insurance premiums (Average price quotes, for the state)
$1,543
Job growth % (2010-2012)
7.45%
Housing
Median home price (2012)
$285,500
Average property taxes
(2011)
$2,343
Education
Reading test scores (% above/below state average)
22.2%
Test scores math (% above/below average)
30.7%
% students attending public/private schools (located within town limits)
88.9/11.1
Quality of life
Air quality index* (% of days AQI ranked as good)
69.6%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)
1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)
11
Median commute time (in minutes)
23.7
% population with commute 45 mins. or longer
14.3%
% population walk or bike to work
2.4%
Leisure and culture
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts)
0.3
Weather
Annual rainfall (inches)
15.81
% clear days in the area
67%
High temp in July ° F
85.4°
Low temp in Jan ° F
17.8°
Meet the neighbors
Median age
33.2
Completed at least some college (% of residents)
82.5%
Married %
65.0%
Divorced %
8.3%
Racial diversity index (100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)
40.4
View moreless See Parker homes for sale
From the September 2013 issue

Source: Onboard Informatics. Details


(I) Income tax notes:
These states use the personal exemption amounts provided in the federal Internal Revenue Code.
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Fan Favorite Towns

Money picked the top 100. Now it's your turn: Which town will be our fan favorite? 'Like' your town and it might just make it to No. 1.

Town # of Likes
1. Sharon, MA 11,968
2. Apex, NC 10,738
3. Westford, MA 6,023
4. Peachtree City, GA 5,632
5. Hillsborough, NJ 5,329
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How we pick the Best Places
Using statistics from data services company Onboard Informatics and other sources, 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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