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19 of 50
19. Newcastle, WA
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Newcastle, WA
19
Top 50 rank: 19
Population: 10,723

Thirteen miles east of Seattle, Newcastle is an ideal spot for city commuters who want to commune with the outdoors in their downtime. The town has 40 acres of parks and more than seven miles of hiking trails, and it's right next to the 3,100 acres of Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park.

Newcastle's proximity to Seattle helps keep the unemployment rate at a low 5.1%, but the easy commute also means pricey real estate: Home prices are well into the $400,000s. --Stefan Malmsten

@CNNMoney
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Newcastle, WA
Town stats
Median family income (per year)
$120,082
Job growth % (2010-2012)
2.01%
Median home price (2012)
$461,250
Reading test scores (% above/below average)
23.5%
Math test scores (% above/below average)
33.6%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)
1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)
19
Financials
Town stats
Median family income (per year)
$120,082
Family purchasing power (annual, cost-of-living adjusted)
$107,514
Sales tax
9.50%
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)
$1,670
Job growth % (2010-2012)
2.01%
Housing
Median home price (2012)
$461,250
Average property taxes
(2012)
$5,565
Education
Reading test scores (% above/below state average)
23.5%
Test scores math (% above/below average)
33.6%
% 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)
85.8%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000)
1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000)
19
Median commute time (in minutes)
23.1
% population with commute 45 mins. or longer
6.5%
% population walk or bike to work
2.2%
Leisure and culture
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts)
0.5
Weather
Annual rainfall (inches)
37.07
% clear days in the area
38%
High temp in July ° F
75.3°
Low temp in Jan ° F
35.9°
Meet the neighbors
Median age
38.0
Completed at least some college (% of residents)
81.4%
Married %
59.4%
Divorced %
4.5%
Racial diversity index (100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)
183.5
View moreless See Newcastle homes for sale
From the September 2013 issue

Source: Onboard Informatics. Details

Is Newcastle a great town, or what?
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  • Homes for sale
  • Newcastle 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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