Money's list of America's best small cities


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1. Eden Prairie, MN
Eden Prairie
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 1
Population: 64,000
Unemployment: 5.1%
Compare Eden Prairie to Top 10 Best Places
Why is Eden Prairie No. 1 this year? Not only is it family-friendly, it has a dynamite economy too.

At 5.1%, its unemployment rate is nearly one percentage point below the county rate and more than four points below the national average. It helps when you've got 50,000 jobs right in town.

Major employers include Fortune 500 trucking company C.H. Robinson, hearing-aid maker Starkey Labs, and the Minnesota Vikings, whose practice facility and front office are here. As for fiscal strength, Moody's gives the town a perfect AAA bond rating.

While it doesn't have much of a downtown, there's plenty of outer beauty: from gently rolling hills to 17 lakes that residents flock to year-round for swimming and ice skating. Town parks are laced with 125 miles of running, hiking, and biking trails.

No wonder residents rank among the healthiest people in the nation. Add in top-notch schools and safe streets and you've got a place that's tough to beat. --Ismat Mangla

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Is Eden Prairie a great town, or what?
Eden Prairie stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $119,012 $90,957
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 12.61% 15.71%
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Median home price $235,000 $239,391
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 41.5% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 31.7% 22.9%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 13 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 363 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 3,051 2,967
High temp in July ° F 83.2° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 3.7° 21.3°
Median age 36.0 35.3
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $119,012 $90,957
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $107,850 $86,860
State sales tax 6.88% 5.45%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 7.85%I 7.35%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 5.35%I 2.96%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $1,672 $1,707
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 12.61% 15.71%
See jobs near Eden Prairie
Housing
Median home price $235,000 $239,391
Average property taxes
(2009)		 $4,540 $3,418
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Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 19 25
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 41.5% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 31.7% 22.9%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 95.7/4.3 87.8/12.2
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 80.0% 77.8%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 13 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 363 24
Median commute time (in minutes) 19.4 21.4
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 6.0% 13.6%
% population walk or bike to work 1.6% 3.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 55 31
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 3,051 2,967
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 198 207
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 212 162
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 88 72
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 5 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 13 12
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 6.0 1.5
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 29.81 37.40
% clear days in the area 26 29
High temp in July ° F 83.2° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 3.7° 21.3°
Median age 36.0 35.3
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 84.5% 71.5%
Married % 63.3% 56.6%
Divorced % 7.5% 8.4%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 43.3 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.

(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.
The tax brackets reported are for single individual. For married couples filing jointly, the same rates apply for income under $33,280 to over $132,221. A 6.4% AMT rate is also applicable.
These states allow personal exemption or standard deductions as provided in the IRC.
Galleries & video
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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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