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20. The Colony, TX
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The Colony, TX
20
Top 50 rank: 20
Population: 39,055

One way to beat the Texas heat: Build your own lake. This suburb sits along manmade Lewisville Lake, a perfect spot for swimming and boating.

The town also offers plenty of job opportunities; several big firms have headquarters in nearby Plano, and Dallas is just 30 minutes away. Homes are cheap, with an average sale price of around $135,000.

The downside: Few retail options and no historical downtown area. --S.M.

@CNNMoney
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The Colony, TX
Town stats
Median family income (per year)
$89,308
Job growth % (2010-2012)
8.30%
Median home price (2012)
$135,863
Reading test scores (% above/below average)
4.0%
Math test scores (% above/below average)
6.9%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)
1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)
15
Financials
Town stats
Median family income (per year)
$89,308
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)
$92,739
Sales tax
8.25%
State income tax rate (highest bracket)
0.00%
State income tax rate (lowest bracket)
0.00%
Auto insurance premiums (Average price quotes, for the state)
$1,800
Job growth % (2010-2012)
8.30%
Housing
Median home price (2012)
$135,863
Average property taxes
(2012)
$3,387
Education
Reading test scores (% above/below state average)
4.0%
Test scores math (% above/below average)
6.9%
% students attending public/private schools (located within town limits)
100.0/0.0
Quality of life
Air quality index* (% of days AQI ranked as good)
75.5%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)
1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)
15
Median commute time (in minutes)
29.5
% population with commute 45 mins. or longer
18.4%
% population walk or bike to work
1.4%
Leisure and culture
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts)
0.3
Weather
Annual rainfall (inches)
34.73
% clear days in the area
64%
High temp in July ° F
95.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F
30.8°
Meet the neighbors
Median age
32.8
Completed at least some college (% of residents)
71.2%
Married %
53.0%
Divorced %
11.1%
Racial diversity index (100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)
112.7
View moreless See The Colony homes for sale
From the September 2013 issue

Source: Onboard Informatics. Details

Is The Colony a great town, or what?
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  • Homes for sale
  • The Colony real estate
Real estate and homes for sale on Trulia
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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