Best Places to Live

Money's list of America's best small cities

States

Top 100
Rank	City	Population
42	Bellevue	118,100

Other cities
Rank	City	Population
	Auburn	48,800
	Bainbridge Island	22,100
	Bellingham	75,100
	Bothell	31,300
	Burien	31,100
	Cascade-Fairwood	37,900
	Cottage Lake	25,400
	Des Moines	28,900
	East Hill-Meridian	29,700
	Edmonds	40,100
	Everett	98,500
	Federal Way	84,100
	Inglewood-Finn Hill	22,800
	Kenmore	19,900
	Kennewick	62,200
	Kent	83,500
	Kirkland	46,400
	Lacey	35,400
	Lakewood	57,500
	Lynnwood	33,600
	Marysville	31,900
	Mercer Island	23,400
	Mountlake Terrace	20,200
	Mukilteo	20,300
	North Creek	31,000
	North Marysville	23,500
	Olympia	44,600
	Orchards	20,500
	Parkland	25,500
	Picnic Point-North Lynnwood	27,600
	Puyallup	36,600
	Redmond	48,700
	Renton	58,500
	Richland	44,600
	Sammamish	35,100
	SeaTac	25,300
	Seattle	582,400
	Seattle Hill-Silver Firs	41,500
	Shoreline	52,300
	South Hill	40,500
	Spanaway	24,000
	Spokane	198,000
	Tacoma	196,500
	University Place	30,600
	Vancouver	158,800
	West Lake Stevens	19,900
	Yakima	82,800

From the August 2008 issue

Best Places Winners

Show: Washington | Top 10 | All 100

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State

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

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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