Money's list of America's best small cities


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38. Yorba Linda, CA
Yorba Linda
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 38
Population: 66,000
Compare Yorba Linda to Top 10 Best Places
Yorba Linda has 100 miles of horse trails, but this Orange County community is more than just an equestrian's paradise.

Just 45 minutes from Los Angeles, it's an affluent city with top school districts, extensive shopping and dining, and access to dozens of nearby golf courses.

The city was the birthplace of Richard Nixon and has a popular museum and library dedicated to him.

The houses in Yorba Linda can be expensive, but most houses are set on unusually large plots of land. --B.D.

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Is Yorba Linda a great town, or what?
Yorba Linda stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $123,492 $90,957
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 9.28% 15.71%
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Median home price $575,000 $239,391
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 56.5% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 35.2% 22.9%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 15 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 8,242 2,967
High temp in July ° F 80.9° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 45.8° 21.3°
Median age 39.1 35.3
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $123,492 $90,957
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $99,953 $86,860
State sales tax 8.25% 5.45%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 9.55%I 7.35%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 1.25%I 2.96%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $1,703 $1,707
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 9.28% 15.71%
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Housing
Median home price $575,000 $239,391
Average property taxes
(2008)		 $4,872 $3,418
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Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 47 25
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 56.5% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 35.2% 22.9%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 76.3/23.7 87.8/12.2
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 70.0% 77.8%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 1 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 15 24
Median commute time (in minutes) 28.9 21.4
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 22.5% 13.6%
% population walk or bike to work 1.4% 3.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 64 31
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 8,242 2,967
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 297 207
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 239 162
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 106 72
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 16 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 7 12
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 0.1 1.5
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 12.87 37.40
% clear days in the area 44 29
High temp in July ° F 80.9° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 45.8° 21.3°
Median age 39.1 35.3
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 76.8% 71.5%
Married % 65.2% 56.6%
Divorced % 7.2% 8.4%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 136.3 94.9
From the August 2010 issue
Notes: *County data

(I) Income tax notes:
16 states have statutory provision for automatic adjustment of tax brackets, personal exemption or standard deductions to the rate of inflation. Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio index the personal exemption amounts only.
An additional 1% tax is imposed on taxable income over $1 million. Tax rates are scheduled to fall by 0.25% after 2011.
For joint returns, the taxes are twice the tax imposed on half the income.
Tax credits.
  • Homes for sale
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Find Your Best Places
Region
Northeast South
Midwest West
Ranking
Top 100 winners only
Population
8.4M
46,000
Home Prices
2009 median sales prices
$1.2M
$36K
Video
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 cities for families. (Last year, we looked at small towns, with populations between 8,500 and 50,000.) More

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