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17. Apple Valley, MN
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Apple Valley, MN
17
Top 50 rank: 17
Population: 49,863

If you don't mind cold winters, there's plenty to recommend this family-friendly Twin Cities suburb. There's a wide range of affordable homes: The median sale price is around $200,000.

Cars are still the de facto transport here, but the city recently added a $112 million rapid-transit bus system that connects the downtown to area attractions like the Mall of America. Apple Valley is also home to the Minnesota Zoo and 53 parks. --H.L.

@CNNMoney
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Apple Valley, MN
Town stats
Median family income (per year)
$93,210
Job growth % (2010-2012)
2.03%
Median home price (2012)
$179,000
Reading test scores (% above/below average)
7.1%
Math test scores (% above/below average)
7.9%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)
13
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)
223
Financials
Town stats
Median family income (per year)
$93,210
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)
$85,947
Sales tax
7.13%
State income tax rate (highest bracket)
7.85%I
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)
5.35%I
Auto insurance premiums (Average price quotes, for the state)
$1,594
Job growth % (2010-2012)
2.03%
Housing
Median home price (2012)
$179,000
Average property taxes
(2012)
$2,722
Education
Reading test scores (% above/below state average)
7.1%
Test scores math (% above/below average)
7.9%
% students attending public/private schools (located within town limits)
99.4/0.6
Quality of life
Air quality index* (% of days AQI ranked as good)
96.7%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)
13
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)
223
Median commute time (in minutes)
22.6
% population with commute 45 mins. or longer
11.0%
% population walk or bike to work
1.8%
Leisure and culture
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts)
4.5
Weather
Annual rainfall (inches)
29.41
% clear days in the area
54%
High temp in July ° F
83.6°
Low temp in Jan ° F
3.8°
Meet the neighbors
Median age
37.4
Completed at least some college (% of residents)
73.5%
Married %
56.8%
Divorced %
6.9%
Racial diversity index (100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)
68.5
View moreless See Apple Valley homes for sale
From the September 2013 issue

Source: Onboard Informatics. Details

(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.
These states use the personal exemption amounts provided in the federal Internal Revenue Code.
The income brackets reported for Minnesota are for single individuals. For married couples filing jointly, the same tax rates apply to income brackets ranging from $35,480 to $140,961.
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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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