Cities In San Diego County Named Among Best Small Cities In U.S.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — Encinitas might not be the biggest in California, but the city recently received recognition as the best small city in San Diego County and one 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.

Encinitas ranked as the best small city in San Diego County, followed by Poway and San Marcos. Here are the San Diego area cities that made WalletHub's Best Small Cities in America list:

1. Encinitas (87th percentile)
2. Poway (77th percentile)
3. San Marcos (73rd percentile)
4. Santee (71st percentile)
5. Vista (64th percentile)
6. La Mesa (57th percentile)
7. Imperial Beach (41st percentile)
8. Lemon Grove (40th percentile)
9. National City (28th percentile)
10. Fallbrook (9th percentile)

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