Money's list of America's best small towns


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92. Silverdale, WA
Silverdale
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 92
Population: 16,600
Compare Silverdale to Top 10 Best Places
Silverdale lies on the northern end of the Sinclair Inlet, which juts up from the Puget Sound. The Cascade Mountains are close by, and most schools have ski programs in the winter. Seattle is slightly over an hour away by ferry for those who want urban amenities.

Silverdale is close to the Bangor Naval Submarine Base and the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard; many retired servicemen and women return to the area.

Right now you can get a home on the water for around $400,000. Frequent views of orca whale pods? Those are free. --N.A.

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Silverdale stats
Median family income
(per year)		 $69,873 $97,441
Job growth %
(2000-2008)*		 13.81% 19.58%
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Median home price $266,500 $262,148
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 6.5% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 6.0% 28.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 23 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 203 19
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,346 1,923
High temp in July ° F* 75.2° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 34.6° 21.0°
Median age 31.2 36.6
Median family income
(per year)		 $69,873 $97,441
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $66,609 $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)*		 13.81% 19.58%
See jobs near Silverdale
Median home price $266,500 $262,148
Average property taxes
(2008)		 $2,649 $3,853
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Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 15 20
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 6.5% 25.6%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 6.0% 28.2%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 98.3/1.7 90.1/9.9
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 96.0% 78.6%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 23 1
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 203 19
Median commute time (in minutes) 17.6 22.5
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 13.5% 13.8%
% population walk or bike to work 4.5% 2.3%
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 23 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,346 1,923
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 153 174
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 130 148
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 25 53
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 9 7
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 7 17
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 0.7 1.2
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 52.24 39.77
% clear days in the area 16 27
High temp in July ° F* 75.2° 85.5°
Low temp in Jan ° F* 34.6° 21.0°
Median age 31.2 36.6
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 75.3% 71.9%
Married % 57.6% 62.9%
Divorced % 10.5% 7.7%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 95.1 58.9
From the August 2009 issue
Notes:
* County data
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2007 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.
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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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