Money's list of America's best small cities


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12. Highlands Ranch, CO
Highlands Ranch
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 12
Population: 98,000
Compare Highlands Ranch to Top 10 Best Places
With over 8,100 acres of open space, 22 lush parks, and activity possibilities that span from hiking to golf, this unincorporated area outside Denver offers the best of the Colorado outdoors.

Visit Highlands Ranch Mansion, a historic structure, or one of the town's four state-of-the-art recreational facilities.

A strong school district and steady home prices appeal to families. Highlands Ranch's business parks are also a draw. --Brittani DiMare

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Is Highlands Ranch a great town, or what?
Highlands Ranch stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $122,448 $90,957
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 29.41% 15.71%
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Median home price $288,250 $239,391
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 35.4% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 45.3% 22.9%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 23 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 203 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 3,252 2,967
High temp in July ° F 85.8° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 14.3° 21.3°
Median age 31.1 35.3
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $122,448 $90,957
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $116,506 $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)*		 29.41% 15.71%
See jobs near Highlands Ranch
Housing
Median home price $288,250 $239,391
Average property taxes
(2008)		 $2,836 $3,418
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Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 17 25
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 35.4% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 45.3% 22.9%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 90.9/9.1 87.8/12.2
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 66.0% 77.8%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 23 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 203 24
Median commute time (in minutes) 23.9 21.4
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 16.7% 13.6%
% population walk or bike to work 1.1% 3.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 44 31
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 3,252 2,967
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 321 207
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 138 162
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 77 72
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 5 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 16 12
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 0.5 1.5
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 17.97 37.40
% clear days in the area 32 29
High temp in July ° F 85.8° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 14.3° 21.3°
Median age 31.1 35.3
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 86.6% 71.5%
Married % 73.1% 56.6%
Divorced % 6.6% 8.4%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 47.9 94.9
From the August 2010 issue
Notes: *County data
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2008 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.
Galleries & video
  • Homes for sale
  • See all Highlands Ranch 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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