2 Cities In Marin Named Among Best Small Cities In U.S.

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Novato and San Rafael might not be the biggest cities in California, but both recently received recognition as two of the best small cities in the country.

The personal finance site WalletHub released its 2019 Best Small Cities in America list, which only included cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000.

WalletHub compared more than 1,200 cities across five key dimensions: affordability, economic health, education and health, quality of life and safety. Each relevant metric was listed with its corresponding weight and the cities were subsequently graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the maximum small city experience.

Novato finished in the 82nd percentile overall and San Rafael finished in the 72nd percentile overall for best small cities in the U.S. Here's how they both ranked among the various studied categories:

NOVATO

• TOTAL SCORE: 64.13
• Affordability: 1136
• Economic Health: 52
• Education & Health: 69
• Quality of Life: 434
• Safety: 181

SAN RAFAEL

• TOTAL SCORE: 62.46
• Affordability: 1202
• Economic Health: 179
• Education & Health: 120
• Quality of Life: 73
• Safety: 696

Leawood, Kansas ranked as the best small city in the country, according to WalletHub, followed by Brentwood, Tennessee and Sammamish, Washington.

Bessemer, Alabama finished as the worst small city in the nation.

"Small-city life can be best for those who appreciate more wiggle room, fewer degrees of separation and shorter commutes, to name just a few advantages," the study's authors said.

Here are the top 10 overall small cities in the country:

1. Leawood, Kansas: 71.98
2. Brentwood, Tennessee: 71.53
3. Sammamish, Washington: 71.34
4. Melrose, Massachusetts: 70.7
5. Carmel, Indiana: 70.59
6. Lexington, Massachusetts: 70.55
7. Milton, Massachusetts: 70.46
8. Brookfield, Wisconsin: 70.38
9. Fair Lawn, New Jersey: 70.25
10. Cedar Park, Texas: 69.98