Money's list of America's best small cities


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84. Bristol, CT
Bristol
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 84
Population: 61,000
Compare Bristol to Top 10 Best Places
ESPN has its headquarters here, but that's not the only reason people in Bristol are excited about sports. Strong high school soccer and baseball teams have residents cheering all year long.

If they want more excitement they can venture to the rides at Lake Compounce, the nation's oldest continuously operating amusement park (it dates back to 1846).

But that's nothing compared to the age of the town itself: It's celebrating its 225th anniversary. --N.A.

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Is Bristol a great town, or what?
Bristol stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $74,650 $90,957
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 1.52% 15.71%
See jobs near Bristol
Median home price $173,000 $239,391
See Bristol homes for sale
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 28.3% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 17.6% 22.9%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 4 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 24 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 2,338 2,967
High temp in July ° F 83.8° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 16.4° 21.3°
Median age 38.5 35.3
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $74,650 $90,957
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $60,790 $86,860
State sales tax 6.00% 5.45%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 6.50%I 7.35%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 3.00%I 2.96%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $2,016 $1,707
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 1.52% 15.71%
See jobs near Bristol
Housing
Median home price $173,000 $239,391
Average property taxes
(2009)		 $4,468 $3,418
See Bristol homes for sale
Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 17 25
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 28.3% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 17.6% 22.9%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 88.2/11.8 87.8/12.2
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 81.0% 77.8%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 4 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 24 24
Median commute time (in minutes) 18.7 21.4
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 9.9% 13.6%
% population walk or bike to work 2.3% 3.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 32 31
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 2,338 2,967
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 100 207
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 211 162
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 101 72
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 11 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 44 12
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 2.1 1.5
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 47.46 37.40
% clear days in the area 23 29
High temp in July ° F 83.8° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 16.4° 21.3°
Median age 38.5 35.3
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 47.3% 71.5%
Married % 51.8% 56.6%
Divorced % 11.2% 8.4%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 61.8 94.9
From the August 2010 issue
Notes: *County data

(I) Income tax notes:
For joint returns, the taxes are twice the tax imposed on half the income.
Combined personal exemptions and standard deduction. An additional tax credit is allowed ranging from 75% to 0% based on state adjusted gross income. Exemption amounts are phased out for higher income taxpayers until they are eliminated for households earning over $61,000.
  • 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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