Notes:
*County data
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2009 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.
(I) Income tax notes:
17 states have statutory provisions for automatically adjusting to the rate of inflation the dollar values of the income tax brackets, standard deductions, and/or personal exemptions. Massachusetts, Michigan, and Nebraska index the personal exemption only. Oregon does not index the income brackets for $125,000 and over. Because the inflation-adjustments for 2011 are not yet available in most cases, the table reports the 2010 amounts, unless 2011 is specified in a footnote. For joint returns, taxes are twice the tax on half the couple's income. The personal exemption takes the form of a tax credit instead of a deduction. California imposes an additional 1% tax on taxable income over $1 million, making the maximum rate 10.3% over $1 million.
(II) Sales tax notes:
California and Virginia rates each include a 1% statewide "local" sales tax rate that localities can not amend.
Using statistics from data services company Onboard Informatics, we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small towns for families. (Last year, we looked at small cities, with populations between 50,000 and 300,000.)
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