Money's list of America's best small cities


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51. Rio Rancho, NM
Rio Rancho
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 51
Population: 82,000
Compare Rio Rancho to Top 10 Best Places
This safe, family-friendly suburb of Albuquerque is home to events like the annual Pork & Brew, a large BBQ festival and competition.

Rio Rancho has a new downtown area that is a developing hub for recreation and business. It currently houses City Hall and the Santa Ana Star Center, a sport and concert arena.

Foreclosures have been a problem in New Mexico and Rio Rancho is not an exception. The plus side: House hunters can snap up bargains. --B.D.

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Is Rio Rancho a great town, or what?
Rio Rancho stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $66,971 $90,957
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 67.48% 15.71%
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Median home price $168,625 $239,391
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Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 22.5% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 41.4% 22.9%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 3 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 25 24
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,316 2,967
High temp in July ° F 85.2° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 15.1° 21.3°
Median age 33.1 35.3
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)		 $66,971 $90,957
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)		 $68,865 $86,860
State sales tax 5.12% 5.45%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)		 4.90%I 7.35%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)		 1.70%I 2.96%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)		 $1,805 $1,707
Job growth %
(2000-2009)*		 67.48% 15.71%
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Housing
Median home price $168,625 $239,391
Average property taxes
(2008)		 $1,406 $3,418
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Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)		 4 25
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)		 22.5% 22.9%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)		 41.4% 22.9%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)		 97.2/2.8 87.8/12.2
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)		 68.0% 77.8%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 3 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 25 24
Median commute time (in minutes) 25.0 21.4
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer		 17.3% 13.6%
% population walk or bike to work 1.1% 3.6%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)		 17 31
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)		 1,316 2,967
Bars
(within 15 miles)		 61 207
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)		 26 162
Libraries
(within 15 miles)		 31 72
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)		 3 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 4 12
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 1.4 1.5
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)		 13.99 37.40
% clear days in the area 46 29
High temp in July ° F 85.2° 86.2°
Low temp in Jan ° F 15.1° 21.3°
Median age 33.1 35.3
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)		 62.7% 71.5%
Married % 59.2% 56.6%
Divorced % 11.2% 8.4%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)		 347.2 94.9
From the August 2010 issue
Notes: *County data

(I) Income tax notes:
The tax brackets reported are for single individuals. For married couples filing jointly, the same rates apply for income under $8,000 to over $24,000. Married households filing separately pay the tax imposed on half the income.
These states allow personal exemption or standard deductions as provided in the IRC.
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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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