Money's list of America's best small towns


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96. Lake Mary, FL
Lake Mary
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 96
Population: 15,100
Compare Lake Mary to Top 10 Best Places
Nicknamed "the Little Silicon Valley," Lake Mary is home to an industrial park of computer software companies. The town is full of commuters on weekdays. On weekends, Lake Mary keeps residents together with community activities such as farmers markets, local artists' booths, and a 24-screen theater.

This area was hammered by the housing downturn -- home prices have dropped some 30% from their highs.

High costs have derailed proposals for a rapid rail system to Orlando for now. --R.G.

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Lake Mary stats
Median family income
(per year)		 $88,834 $97,441
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 15.05% 19.58%
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Median home price $252,500 $262,148
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 29.7% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 21.1% 28.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 18 19
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 2,089 1,923
High temp in July ° F* 91.9° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 47.0° 21.0°
Median age 39.5 36.6
Median family income
(per year)		 $88,834 $97,441
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $87,867 $95,041
State sales tax 6.00% 5.63%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 N.A. 6.06%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 N.A. 3.07%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $2,059 $1,744
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 15.05% 19.58%
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Median home price $252,500 $262,148
Average property taxes
(2007)		 $2,958 $3,853
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Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 8 20
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 29.7% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 21.1% 28.2%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 64.2/35.8 90.1/9.9
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 93.0% 78.6%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 18 19
Median commute time (in minutes) 21.8 22.5
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 16.9% 13.8%
% population walk or bike to work 2.2% 2.3%
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 31 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 2,089 1,923
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 181 174
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 196 148
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 32 53
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 4 7
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) N.A. 17
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 0.4 1.2
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 51.31 39.77
% clear days in the area 24 27
High temp in July ° F* 91.9° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 47.0° 21.0°
Median age 39.5 36.6
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 64.2% 71.9%
Married % 61.3% 62.9%
Divorced % 10.0% 7.7%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 77.1 58.9
From the August 2009 issue
Notes:
* County data
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How we picked the Best Places
Using statistics from data provider Onboard Informatics, 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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