Money's list of America's best small towns


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33. Brownsburg, IN
Brownsburg
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 33
Population: 19,500
Compare Brownsburg to Top 10 Best Places
Once a busy junction for horse-drawn wagons, Brownsburg is now intersected by three major highways that allow a quick commute to Indianapolis.

The town is home to O'Reilly Raceway Park -- which hosts over 100 auto-racing events each year and is one of Brownsburg's largest employers -- as well as a handful of professional race-car drivers.

Housing is very affordable here. Traffic is an issue, however; the town is working on widening the highways and creating a bypass to alleviate congestion. --D.G.

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Brownsburg stats
Median family income
(per year)		 $84,490 $97,441
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 33.67% 19.58%
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Median home price $131,000 $262,148
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 22.5% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 20.4% 28.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 17 19
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,620 1,923
High temp in July ° F* 85.9° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 17.6° 21.0°
Median age 34.5 36.6
Median family income
(per year)		 $84,490 $97,441
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $90,752 $95,041
State sales tax 7.00% 5.63%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 3.40%I 6.06%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 3.40%I 3.07%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $1,478 $1,744
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 33.67% 19.58%
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Median home price $131,000 $262,148
Average property taxes N.A. $3,853
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Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 11 20
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 22.5% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 20.4% 28.2%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 94.7/5.3 90.1/9.9
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 91.0% 78.6%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 17 19
Median commute time (in minutes) 24.9 22.5
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 11.5% 13.8%
% population walk or bike to work 1.7% 2.3%
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 25 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,620 1,923
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 198 174
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 145 148
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 40 53
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 8 7
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 2 17
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 0.6 1.2
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 41.61 39.77
% clear days in the area 24 27
High temp in July ° F* 85.9° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 17.6° 21.0°
Median age 34.5 36.6
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 69.8% 71.9%
Married % 65.0% 62.9%
Divorced % 8.3% 7.7%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 17.4 58.9
From the August 2009 issue
Notes:
* County data

(I) Income tax notes:
Local rates are excluded; 14 states have county or city level income taxes. In each of these states the average rate for all counties and cities, weighted by total personal income within each jurisdiction, is: 0.19% in Ala.; 0.06% in Ark.; 0.16% in Del.; 1.16% in Ind.; 0.3% in Iowa.; 0.76% in Ky.; 2.98% in Md.; 0.44% in Mich.; 0.12% in Mo.; 0.09% in N.J.; 1.7% in N.Y.; 1.82% in Ohio; 0.36% in Ore.; and 1.25% in Pa.
$2,500 exemption is for each dependent child. If the dependent is not the taxpayer's child the exemption is $1,000.
FORTUNE 500
WellPoint 32
Eli Lilly 122
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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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