Best Small Cities In U.S. 2019: Roswell Makes The List

ROSWELL, GA — Roswell might not be the biggest in the state, but we recently received recognition as one of the best small cities in the nation.

Personal finance site WalletHub released its 2019 Best Small Cities in America, which only included metros with populations between 25,000 and 100,000.

Our city finished in the 76 percentile overall for best small cities in the United States.

• Total Score: 63.12
• Affordability Rank: 266
• Economic Health Rank: 248
• Education & Health Rank: 836
• Quality of Life Rank: 268
• Safety Rank: 336

The City of Roswell was founded by Roswell King in 1839 who came to the area in the mid-1830s, the city said on its website. Roswell officially became a city on February 16, 1854. Roswell is now Georgia’s eighth largest city, but its major growth in population has just happened in the last 20 years. The City of Roswell has 13 parks with over 900 acres of active and passive parkland and facilities.

The list compared more than 1,200 cities across the nation based on 42 key indicators of liveability, including home ownership rate, the number of performing arts centers in the area, job growth and more.

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.

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

Bessemer, Alabama finished as the worst small city in the United States.

"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," authors of the WalletHub study 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

Other Georgia cities on the list that finished above the 50th percentile include Alpharetta (97), Peachtree City (86), Johns Creek (83), Kennesaw (80), Milton (79), Duluth (76), Marietta (69), Smyrna (63).

Patch editor Gus Saltonstall contributed to this article.