Money's list of America's best small cities


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58. Arvada, CO
Arvada
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 58
Population: 107,000
Compare Arvada to Top 10 Best Places
Arvada is the place where gold was first spotted in Colorado in the 1850s, and the town holds an annual Gold Strike Festival to commemorate the event. But residents can also boast of striking gold in choosing this appealing town just outside Denver.

Arvada's downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. Residents can roam the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, a cultural center that houses three theatres, two floors of gallery space, and a museum, plus studios and classrooms.

Though its population now surpasses 100,000, Arvada manages to retain a small-town feel and strong sense of community. --B.D.

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Is Arvada a great town, or what?
Arvada stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $83,377 $90,957
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 -1.12% 15.71%
See jobs near Arvada
Median home price $204,250 $239,391
See Arvada homes for sale
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 10.5% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 10.3% 22.9%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 2 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 25 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 3,872 2,967
High temp in July ° F 86.0° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 13.1° 21.3°
Median age 40.5 35.3
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $83,377 $90,957
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $79,331 $86,860
State sales tax 2.90% 5.45%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 N.A. 7.35%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 4.63% 2.96%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $1,532 $1,707
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 -1.12% 15.71%
See jobs near Arvada
Housing
Median home price $204,250 $239,391
Average property taxes
(2008)		 $1,737 $3,418
See Arvada homes for sale
Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 20 25
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 10.5% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 10.3% 22.9%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 90.3/9.7 87.8/12.2
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 63.0% 77.8%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 2 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 25 24
Median commute time (in minutes) 23.0 21.4
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 13.6% 13.6%
% population walk or bike to work 1.6% 3.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 44 31
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 3,872 2,967
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 410 207
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 149 162
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 92 72
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 6 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 17 12
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 0.5 1.5
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 17.68 37.40
% clear days in the area 32 29
High temp in July ° F 86.0° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 13.1° 21.3°
Median age 40.5 35.3
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 64.4% 71.5%
Married % 58.1% 56.6%
Divorced % 11.5% 8.4%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 39.5 94.9
From the August 2010 issue
Notes: *County data
  • Homes for sale
  • See all Arvada homes for sale
  • Real estate and homes for sale on Trulia
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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