Best Places to Live

Money's list of America's best small cities

States

Top 100
Rank	City	Population
27	Ann Arbor	113,200
48	Novi	54,100
62	Shelby	72,200
61	Sterling Heights	127,900
22	Troy	81,100
36	West Bloomfield Township	65,900

Other cities
Rank	City	Population
	Allen Park	27,600
	Auburn Hills	20,900
	Battle Creek	52,700
	Bloomfield Township	42,600
	Burton	30,800
	Canton	78,200
	Clinton	101,500
	Dearborn	92,300
	Dearborn Heights	55,200
	Detroit	871,100
	East Lansing	46,000
	Eastpointe	32,900
	Farmington Hills	79,700
	Ferndale	21,300
	Flint	117,000
	Forest Hills	22,900
	Garden City	28,400
	Grand Rapids	193,000
	Harrison	26,300
	Holland	34,200
	Kalamazoo	72,100
	Kentwood	46,500
	Lansing	114,200
	Lincoln Park	37,500
	Livonia	96,700
	Macomb	68,000
	Madison Heights	30,000
	Marquette	20,400
	Midland	41,500
	Monroe	21,800
	Norton Shores	23,400
	Oak Park	30,900
	Okemos	23,100
	Plymouth Township	28,200
	Pontiac	67,100
	Portage	45,200
	Redford	48,600
	Rochester Hills	69,800
	Romulus	24,100
	Roseville	47,400
	Royal Oak	57,900
	Saginaw	57,500
	Saginaw Township North	24,900
	Southfield	76,000
	Southgate	29,200
	St. Clair Shores	61,100
	Taylor	64,200
	Walker	23,500
	Warren	134,500
	Waterford	73,100
	Westland	84,500
	Wyandotte	26,400
	Wyoming	70,100

From the August 2008 issue

Best Places Winners

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Video

Why Plymouth is No. 1

A sense of home, parks and award-winning schools help put this Minnesota city at the top of Money's Best Places to Live list. Watch
Why Fort Collins is a natural pick

Green-minded residents love this Colorado city, no. 2 on Money's Best Places to Live list, where you can borrow a bike, and enjoy the nearby mountains. Watch
Naperville's family feel

Great schools, a vibrant downtown and low crime help put this small city near Chicago at No. 3 on Money's Best Places to Live list. Watch
Hoboken's great singles scene

For the second year running, Hoboken takes the top spot for the over 30 and single scene, as part of Money's Best Places to Live. Watch
Where to beat the gas crunch

In places like State College, Pa., commutes are short or many residents get to work in ways that dont use a lot of fuel. Watch

Top 3

City	Median income
New Canaan, CT	$231,138
Darien, CT	$218,130
Lake Forest, IL	$212,122

See the rest

City	% single
Hoboken, NJ	57.7%
Cambridge, MA	52.4%
Somerville, MA	51.4%

See the rest

City	Median home price
Nicholasville, KY	$70,000
Watauga, TX	$117,040
Redan, GA	$115,000

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How we picked the Best Places

Using statistics from data provider Onboard Informatics and consultant Bert Sperling of BestPlaces.net, 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 7,500 and 50,000.) More