Money's list of America's best small towns


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17. Newcastle, WA
Newcastle
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 17
Population: 9,800
Compare Newcastle to Top 10 Best Places
Once full of coal miners, Newcastle now has a much more diverse jobs base: The town is 15 minutes from both Microsoft's Redmond headquarters and Boeing's 737 plant in Renton.

But the biggest draw here may be The Golf Club at Newcastle. Built by former Microsoft exec Scott Oki, the massive site includes two 18-hole public courses and a 44,000-square-foot clubhouse.

Home buyers can find properties at a great variety of prices, from $350,000 3-bedroom-2-car-garage ramblers to brand-new $6 million estates. --N.A.

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Newcastle stats
Median family income
(per year)		 $115,727 $97,441
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 26.02% 19.58%
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Median home price $475,475 $262,148
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 15.1% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 27.6% 28.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 22 19
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 4,320 1,923
High temp in July ° F* 75.2° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 34.9° 21.0°
Median age 38.0 36.6
Median family income
(per year)		 $115,727 $97,441
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $110,321 $95,041
State sales tax 6.50% 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)		 $1,863 $1,744
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 26.02% 19.58%
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Median home price $475,475 $262,148
Average property taxes
(2008)		 $4,064 $3,853
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Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 15 20
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 15.1% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 27.6% 28.2%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 100.0/0.0 90.1/9.9
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 89.0% 78.6%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 22 19
Median commute time (in minutes) 24.5 22.5
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 9.1% 13.8%
% population walk or bike to work 0.5% 2.3%
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 62 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 4,320 1,923
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 326 174
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 167 148
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 93 53
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 9 7
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 9 17
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 0.7 1.2
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 43.72 39.77
% clear days in the area 16 27
High temp in July ° F* 75.2° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 34.9° 21.0°
Median age 38.0 36.6
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 84.8% 71.9%
Married % 63.4% 62.9%
Divorced % 7.7% 7.7%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 133.0 58.9
From the August 2009 issue
Notes:
* County data
Help your town win!
Money picked the top 100. Now it’s your turn: Which town will be our fan favorite? Become a fan of your town and it might just make it to No. 1. Results updated monthly.
Town Become a fan # of fans
1. Louisville, CO Become a fan on facebook Add me! 4,256
2. Chanhassen, MN Become a fan on facebook Add me! 2,410
3. Papillion, NE Become a fan on facebook Add me! 1,581
4. Middleton, WI Become a fan on facebook Add me! 1,481
5. Milton, MA Become a fan on facebook Add me! 1,425
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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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